Lucky Legacy
by DOTMW
Summary: UPDATED! After the curtain rises, the story continues! Enjoy a slice of the younger girls' life as Hiyori, Patty, Minami and Yutaka pick up where the older girls left off. A tale of life, love and what it means to grow up. Yuri.
1. Foreword

_Lucky Legacy _

_A Fanfiction _

_By _

_Dotmw _

_Lucky Star is a production of Kyoto Anime. The following is a work of fiction made for entertainment purposes only and completely nonprofit. Neither the author or this piece of fiction are associated with KyoAni or its affiliates._

_Great, now that's the only time I'm going to say it. It is HIGHLY unlikely that I will come to possess any intellectual rights to Lucky Star in the course of this fic so we'll just say that this disclaimer applies to all future chapters. _

_Lucky Legacy is a story I've had in the works for a while now but due to school and work, I've been hard pressed staring it. This story revolves around my favorite characters in the Lucky Star universe; Hiyori, Patricia, Minami and Yutaka as they pick up after the older girls graduate. Starting with their second year, they'll go through all the way to graduation, covering Life, love and growing up. I want to stick close to the original spirit of the show as possible. _

_Before we begin, I will warn you that this fic will contain yuri and by which I mean romantic relationships between two girls. _

_There. You have been warned. Any "reviews" regarding the subject matter rather than the story will be ignored and erased. If this subject matter offends your sensibilities, LEAVE NOW. After this, I will no longer suffer any insensitivities. _

…

_Okay, now that they're gone, I'll just say that this is my first stab at a Lucky Star fic as well as my first yuri romance so I'm a little intimidated. This first chapter is just to get the personalities down and see if I'm doing it right so please, any constructive criticism would be helpful. _

_Now, let's get cracking!_

_Sure, Let's Go_

_Funga!_

_Quit screwing around and start_

_LSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLS_


	2. Prologue: The Meloncholy of Hiiragi Kaga

_Lucky Legacy_

_Prologue_

_The Melancholy of Hiiragi Kagami_

"So this is it, huh?"

This_ was _it, Kagami thought as she voiced her thoughts to the empty air. This was is _it _as _it _could get, yet she was the only one in the few short hours since they received their diplomas to mention _it _and even now she only said it to herself_. _

As spacious as Miyuki's house was, the addition of dozens of friends, family members and well-wishers mingling in the halls made it feel too cramped and claustrophobic for Kagami's taste. So, at the first sign of a lull in the glowing praise being heaped on by her family, she slipped out the back to get some fresh air and maybe clear her head.

Finals were behind them, admission letters were sent and all but the graduation was left for the sunny Saturday in March. Now, the sun was setting, the post graduation party was in full swing and eighteen year old Hiiragi Kagami suddenly found herself at a loss as to what came next.

Of course, her rational mind knew what the next logical step was; college. Years of busting her academic butt weren't about to go to waste by dropping out and getting a job. Kagami had prided herself in always knowing what her future held for her.

But…

What scared her was the growing feeling that she wasn't ready for the future she had chosen for herself.

As far as the academic part of college went, Kagami wasn't too worried. Despite Matsuri's horror stories from her years trudging through community college, Kagami put faith in her laser guided focus honed over years of devoting herself to her studies. The excruciatingly rigorous classes at Kyoto University crushed countless and yet they didn't intimidate her as much as the prospect of being a-

"KAGAMI-SAMA!"

"OOF!"

Just like that, Kagami's train of thought was derailed by the back door clanging against the house and a small warm mass of blue hair tackling her to the grass just off the porch.

"Kagami! Kagami! Kagami!" Konata bounced on her knees and excitedly tugging Kagami's frazzled pigtails for emphasis. "Kagami, you HAVE to come see this!!"

Kagami spat out a mouthful blue hair and grass, rolling over to glare at the blue haired otaku kneeling on her stomach. "What, what WHAT?!"

"Well, we were upstairs and then we started playing this game and I was winning and it was fun and then Miyuki-san decided to get in on the next game and then YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!"

"You ran down the stairs, crashed through the door, slide tackled me like a two-year old high on sugar and _messed up my hair_?!?!" Kagami grunted, rolling on her side so Konata slid off her stomach and flipped over on the grass. "I can believe _that_; don't worry." Kagami sighed, tugging the loose clumps of grass out of her hair.

Konata rolled over on her stomach, staring at Kagami with her trademark Mischievous Smirk®. "Lighten up, Kagamin…" Konata purred playfully jabbing Kagami's side. "It's just us here and we _all_know what you look like with your hair all frazzled up." Kagami opened her mouth to fire a jibe back at Konata but stopped short, biting her lip and looking away.

The gesture was not lost on Konata whose smile faltered slightly as she sat up on her knees to look Kagami in the eye. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Kagami flinched slightly, surprised that Konata would be insightful enough to know that something was bothering her. "What?! What do you mean?! Nothing's wrong! I'm fine! Really! I'm great! Wrong?! Me? Pah! No, I'm good. Nothing's wrong! What makes you think something's wrong?!"

Konata sighed, flopping back on the grass and looking at Kagami like a teacher looks at a particularly slow learner. "Well, it's pretty easy to tell with you. For the most part, you're a textbook Type A Tsundere so-"

Kagami sighed as Konata used her least favorite nickname. "And for those who aren't fluent in geek speak _that_ means…"

"That you put up a front of aloofness, crankiness and cynicism as your default mood." Konata ignored Kagami's indignant squawk and continued with her analysis like a college professor would teach a master class. "Usually, your agitation is brought on by irritating actions from people around you. Though, much like R-kia, As-ka, and Ch--ori, your sensitive side usually manifests itself through blushing, stammering and fervent denial of your innermost feelings and-"

"T-that's just…that doesn't apply to…I mean even to _insinuate _something like that i-is just…" Kagami tried to will the heat out of her cheeks as Konata crossed her arms and smirked smugly.

"Fine!" Kagami humphed, eyebrow twitching in irritation. "So…maybe there's something's irking me…but that doesn't mean that it's _any _of _your _business!"

Konata sighed. "So it's not my business; when has that stopped me before?" Kagami gave a grunt of assent as Konata inched closer to her. "C'mon, you can tell me. What is it?"

"No…it's nothing." Kagami insisted, avoiding her friend's gaze.

Konata leaned around, trying to meet Kagami's eyes. "Is it about a _boooy?_"

"Why does everything we talk about always end up being about _boys_?" Kagami groaned, leaning back away from Konata.

"I'm getting warm…did this special someone reject your confession of _looove_?" Konata crooned, tugging on her pigtails.

"What?! No!" Kagami cursed her revealing red cheeks. "And leave my hair alone!"

"Nah…to obvious…I got it!" Konata sat back, crowing triumphantly. "He returned your feelings but he's going to school in America, leaving you at home to pine for the romance that could have been!"

"Konata…" Kagami growled.

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I got it! I got it!" Konata giggled, bouncing on her heels. "You love him, but he's hell bent on controlling the world for the sake of his little sister! So now your heart is torn between the admiration you have for the brave freedom fighter and the love you have for Japan! Am I right?! I AM, ARENT I?!"

Kagami could only stare at her sparkling eyed friend as her otaku side shone out. Kagami seriously wondered if graduation had done anything to sober Konata's wild geeky energy. But, in a weird way, Konata's special brand of weirdness proved to be a touchstone by which Kagami could find some stability in an otherwise uncerta-

"Hellooooo…Kaaaagaaaamiiiin?" Again, Kagami's thoughts were interrupted by Konata waving a hand in front of her face. "You spaced out there for a second…are you okay?"

"Wha? Yeah, I'm fine!" Kagami said.

Konata's usual playful demeanor was replaced with an unusually exasperated expression. "You know, Miyuki-san and Tsukasa are too polite to tell you this, but you have the worst communication skills. You keep it in way more than you should."

As much as Kagami wanted to brush off Konata's advice, she knew that she was probably right. "Well…it's just that…" Kagami started hesitantly.

"Go on." Konata encouraged, laying down on her stomach, resting her head in her hands like a child waiting for a bedtime story.

"Well…today was graduation and…"

"Really?" Konatagasped in mock surprise. "Was it the cap and gown that gave it away or the fact that everyone got diplomas?"

"Forget it! Just forget it!" Kagami growled, starting to get up before Konata reached out and grabbed her skirt.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Konata said quickly apologizing while fighting to keep a straight face. "I just couldn't resist. Go on; today was graduation and…"

Kagamireluctantly sat back down on the grass, smoothing her skirt to give her a moment to collect her thoughts. "_And _I was just thinking…about Misao and Ayano."

Konata's brow furrowed in confusion. "What about those two?"

Kagami gulped nervously. "Well, I mean, they've been friends since grade school…and even though they promised to spend all summer together…Misao got accepted at Aichi and Ayano's all but set on Asahikawa for her undergraduate stuff."

"So?" Konata was still confused. "What is that supposed to me-"

"It means they're not going to be together!" Kagami could see that Konata was startled by her outburst but blabbered on, twirling the ends of her pigtails nervously before she could say anything. "I mean they can still visit each other and stuff, but they won't see each other every day like at school and…and I know their close enough to get by on e-mails and phone calls but, but, but Matsuri never talks to _her _friends from high school anymore and they used t-to be really close and so after all that I as just thinking…I was thinking about what was going to happen to them after…"

Konata furrowed her brow. "This isn't about them, is it?"

Kagami sighed, shaking her head. "No…it's about us."

Kagami's response left a heavy silence in the air for a few seconds as Konata could only blink numbly in response. "Wow…Kagami…t-that was…"

Kagami blinked in surprise as, for the first time in the history of their friendship, Konata was genuinely rendered speechless. A small part of her felt guilty for diffusing her usual spirit and she reached a hand out hesitantly.

"Hey…I didn't mean to bum you out. Look, I'm sure that I'm just w-AACK!!"

Kagami let out a strangled cry as Konata threw her arms around her waist, tackling her to the grass in an exuberant glomp.

"That was so CUTE!" Konata squealed.

"GET OFF ME!" Kagami cried, trying to pry her arms out from under Konata's.

"I can't help it!" Konata sighed. "The way you got all worried about us was just _classic!_"

"LET…ME…GO!"

"Awww, is Kagami worried that she's gonna be _looonley at college?_" Konata crooned, nuzzling Kagami's stomach. "Is she gonna miss her friends?"

"KONATA! I'm trying to be serious here!" Kagami finally wormed her way out of Konata's grip, sitting up on her elbows and letting Konata flop on the grass.

"Kagami, _come on. _You're _always _serious. You haven't been out of school two hours and you're _already_getting a jumpstart on worrying your life away!" Konata shook her head, chuckling to herself. "Most kids would be totally happy to be out of school; you really suck at being a teenager.

"But-"

"Oh, what do you think is going to happen?" Konata said, cutting Kagami off. "You think we're just going to go on our merry ways and totally forget about each other?"

"Well…I mean if I'm going to Kyoto and Tsukasa's staying here to get her chef's certification then-"

"Kyoto's not that far away." Konata said simply. "You could catch a train and be here in a couple hours."

"I know…" Kagami sighed. "But what about Miyuki and that French school she applied to? I mean…what if she gets in?"

"Oh, there's no "if" involved." Konata said. "We both know that Miyuki-san has the grades to get into pretty much any school she wants to."

"So if she decides to go to France?"

"Then we'll have to work a little harder to keep in touch; a few dozen e-mails a day and it'll be like you went to France with her."

"Easy for you to say…some of us aren't attached to our keyboards like you are…" Kagami mumbled.

Konata stared at Kagami for a moment as Kagami picked listlessly at the grass to avoid making eye contact. "Something about today is really bumming you out isn't it? I don't really think the fact we're leaving home is the big problem here."

Kagami didn't look up, instead talking to the small patch she had worn in the grass. "Ever…ever since I was young, everyone always said that I always had a good head on my shoulders…that I always knew what I was doing. I really believed them. Somehow having my family and friends thinking I always had the answers made me believe that I really did. But…all that's over now. Now…I have to figure things out for myself. Now I have to fulfill this great plan everyone thought I had going. But…I don't know if I'm as ready as everyone thinks I am. I've…I've never really had to believe in myself because everyone-my friends, my teachers and my family-believed _in _me _for _me. Now that I'm headed out on my own…I'm not sure I'm ready to. I'm not sure…I can do this on my own."

Kagami looked away, fully expecting Konata to shoot a sly grin and a snarky remark to make light of the situation.

"But…you're not alone, Kagami." Kagami looked up in genuine surprise to see Konata smiling softly back. "You're not the only one heading out on your own and you're not the only one feeling a little anxious. I'll admit, having no post-high school plan is daunting especially when you've pretty much been laughed out of every college you've applied to." Konata and Kagami shared a chuckle at the memory of Konata's exuberant cheer when she learned she failed _all _her entrance exams and managed to skip out on college. "But as uncertain as the future is…I'm excited about tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day and I feel ready to do anything. And I'm _waaaay _worse off than you are"

Kagami let out a reluctant chuckle. "That's for sure. Although…I think you'll pull through. I believe you can."

Konata smiled, laying a hand on her friend's shoulder, eyes sparkling suddenly. "Then believe in me! And I'll believe in you! And if you believe in the _me_ that believes in _you_then your dri …sorry…I mean, we'll get through this."

Kagami returned Konata's smile hesitantly at first then as she drew confidence from her friend, she smiled with genuine hope. "Okay then…it's a promise. I promise to believe in you no matter what brand craziness you get yourself into if…if you'll do the same for me?" Kagami asked shyly.

Konata grinned her favorite cat-like grin, gently squeezing Kagami's hand with her own. "Deal. No matter how high-strung or bent out of shape you get, I'll always believe that you'll pull through."

And, with a squeeze of a hand, a promise that would soon run deeper than their friendship was struck. Though similar promises would later be forged with Miyuki and Tsukasa, it was Konata reaching out first that Kagami would remember.

For now though, Kagami stood up, brushing the dirt off her skirt and pulled Konata to her feet. "We should probably head inside; looks like our parents are getting antsy without anyone to heap praises on."

"I guess so..." Konata sighed in mock despair. "Hey, what d'you think about Kyoto?"

"Kyoto?"

"Yeah. Something tells me I could have a future there."

"Well, that would be pretty hard to accomplish, seeing how you didn't get in and all." Kagami sighed.

"I'm not talking about your precious university!" Konata grumbled, crossing her arms. "Some of my favorite studios operate out of Kyoto!"

"And you think they'll hire you because..."

"Because I'm a genius, that's why." Konata said. "Plus, I have accumulated a certain reputation that tends to preceedme in all realms of the otaku."

Kagami fought hard to keep a laugh down, settling for a badly concealed snort. "Whatever you say..."

"Hey! You said you'd beleive in me no matter what!" Konata cried indignantly. "WAS THAT ALL A LIE?!"

"Oh pipe down, you." Kagami said, flicking the irritated otaku's forehead. "Don't get so bent out of shape; I was kidding.

Konata humphed, following Kagami across the lawn. "Hey...you okay now?"

Kagami turned back, smiling to herself. "You know…I think…I will be." Kagami nodded to herself, resolutely. "Still…it's hard to believe that it's really over though…"

Konata smirked as the sun caught a glint off a pair of glasses peeking out of the second floor window. As soon as Konata looked up, there was a soft "_eek" _and the glasses vanished in a trail of black hair back into the house, closing the window with a _snap_.

"Over, Kagamin? The story's not over yet…in fact I think the best part is just beginning…"

_AN: Please review! _


	3. Chapter One: Changing of the Gaurd

_Lucky Legacy_

_Chapter One_

_The Changing of the Guard_

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_The warm summer breeze gently wafted through the trees, gently shaking the leaves free from their branches and sending them cascading towards the ground in brilliant confetti of green and gold. Summer was here; a time of endless possibility for the young but carrying bittersweet feelings for the older girls who were forced to part with many a childhood friend as they left for new beginnings. _

"_So…I guess this is it, huh Konata?" Hiiragi Kagami said, biting her lip and looking down to avoid her friend's eyes. _

_Konata's brow creased ever so slightly as she gently touched Kagami's shoulder. "What's it? What's wrong, Kagami?" _

"_I-It's just that…" Kagami's bottom lip trembled softly. "Today was the last day of school a-and…the last time we'll get to see each other every day…" _

_Konata laughed lightly, turning Kagami's shoulders so that she was facing her. "Silly Kagami; we have plenty of time left. It's not goodbye yet…" _

"_But summer is going to go by so fast!" Kagami said, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "A-and after than we might not see each other every day…" Kagami went on before Konata could interrupt. "I don't know if I'm ready to face the rest of the world…without you." _

_Konata gasped softly as her eyes went wide with sudden realization. "K-kagami…what are you saying?" _

_Kagami's face lit up with a luminescent blush. "I…I wasn't going to say anything…but if this is one of the last times I'm going to see you then…I may as well just say it…" _

"_Kaga-" Konata tried to say before a single finger rested across her lips. _

"_Don't…just let me talk. I know I can be hard on you and sometimes I can come off as a little abrasive…but it's only because you're my friend…and I r-really admire you Kona-chan. Maybe…maybe more than I should; I don't know. What I do know is that I'm a better person for having met you and…and…I don't want you to leave me!" _

_Kagami stared breathlessly at the clearly shocked Konata. Each passing second of silence between them only made Kagami feel more and more that she had said too much; that she had gambled their friendship and lost. Kagami could barely bring herself to look the baffled girl in the eye for fear of meeting rejection or contempt. _

_Humiliated, and a little heartbroken, Kagami started to get up. 'F-forget it! Just forget what I said and-" But Kagami was cut short by Konata throwing her arms around her waist and hugging her tightly. _

"_Kagami…" Kagami was startled to see a smile on Konata's face. "You know…you're really cute when you get embarrassed." With that, Konata leaned in slowly closing the distance between them._

"_K-Konata!" Kagami said, blushing and looking around. "N-no…someone will see…" _

"_Who?" Konata gently cupped Kagami's chin and forced her eyes up to meet her own. "No one's here…it's just us."  
_

"_I…I don't-"_

"_Kagami…" Konata said seriously. "For as long as I've known you, you've always been concerned about what your future holds." Konata leaned a little closer, close enough that Kagami could smell the mix of her cherry chapstick and cream soda. "Just this once…I want you to live for now. Whatever happens after this…we can deal with later. But just this once…" _

"_Konata…" Kagami sighed softly, closing the distance between them and capturing the smaller pair of lips in a tigh-_

"What'cha doing?"

"GAAAAH!"

Like a daring soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save his comrades, sixteen year old Tamura Hiyori flung her body forward to cover the sketchpad now pressed tightly against her chest. In doing so, however, she overshot the pad and banged her head on the window, causing her to lose balance on the window seat and topple backwards only to sprawl at her friend's feet.

Patricia Martin had left Miyuki's room to find her friend who disappeared half an hour into a M--io K-rt game. She was hardly surprised to find her perching on the window seat and scribbling furiously on her ever-present sketchpad. Now, being the bright and curious girl that she was, Patty was naturally interested in what was keeping Hiyori so _interested_ (since her "usual subjects" were currently talking in Miyuki's room).

Hiyori fixed her crooked glasses with one hand while keeping the other firmly pressing the sketchpad against her body. "Who, me?"

Patty nodded slowly, wondering if she phrased her question correctly. "Considering you're the only one here? Yes, you."

"Oh…well…I really wasn't looking at anything particular…just…just looking at the sunset!" Hiyori swallowed the nervous knot in her throat as she tried to avoid Patty's probing blue eyes. "You know …I was just walking by and I noticed…the lighting…is just so…bright… in the backyard and, and…the shadows are just so…dark?"

Patty's brow wrinkled, and for a shadow of a second, Hiyori thought her hastily thrown together excuse had _actually _fooled her. Then, a slow and knowing smile spread across Patty's face as if to say _I smell a lie._

"Oh, _really?_" Hiyori scooted back a couple inches as Patty leaned closer. "Then you wouldn't mind if I took a look at your latest masterpiece, _would you_?" Patty teased, reaching for the sketchpad.

Hiyori shot up from her place on the floor, backing away from Patty as if she had turned into a snake until her back rested against the wall beneath the window. "Oh, w-well, uh, I mean it's not really ready yet! I still have to shade it and draw the background and color the lines…"

"That's okay…" Patty smirked, reaching forward and tugging at the corners of the sketchbook. "I'm sure whatever you have so far will be _interesting _to say the least."

Hiyori wiggled the book out of Patty's hands, gulping nervously. "Y-yeah, well as a personal rule I don't show my pieces until I'm totally comfortable with the finished product!"

"That's fine." Patty said, undeterred. "I'm interested in your artistic process."

"I don't have my usual pencils!" The panicked artist blurted out. "The details are all wrong!"

"If it's just a picture of the sunset, how much detail can there be? It's not like you were staring straight at it."

"Y-you know, I-I actually don't like it very m-much." Hiyori stammered, nervously pushing her glasses farther up on the bridge of her nose. "I'm p-probably just going to shred it when I get home."

Patty's smug smirk became a triumphant grin as she sensed her imminent victory. "All the more reason to let me see it NOW!" Seeing a faltering slack in her friend's grip, Patty snatched the book out of Hiyori's nervously trembling fingers.

"HEY! Wait, you can't-" Hiyori lunged for the book, only to have Patty worm out of her grasp and scramble back across the floor.

"**Victory is mine**!" Patty crowed in her native tongue before cracking open the sketchbook. "Now, let's see what we have here…"

"Patty, wait! Please…" Hiyori pleaded, trying to grab the book back as Patty casually thumbed through the pages.

"Let's see…C-de G-ass slash…picture of Minami feeding Yutaka a strawberry…Str-ab-rry P-nic four-panel…picture of Minami hugging Yutaka from behind…"

"Paaaaty!" Hiyori cried, grabbing Patty's legs and pulling her to the floor. "Stop! Please!"

Patty squeaked as her friend tackled her to the carpet, but was otherwise un-phased as she continued to tick off the pages leading up to Hiyori's latest work. " M-I H-me fanart…Picture of Minami picking a leaf out of Yutaka's hair, complete with luminescent blush…doodles of Kagami-san in a S-ilor M-on outfit…"

_Oh God! She's almost there! _Hiyori thought as she grabbed desperately at her book. "GIVE IT BACK!!"

"Mikuru cosplaying as a nurse…"

"I'M BEGGING YOU!!!"

"Yutaka sleeping on Minami's lap…"

"PATTY!" Hiyori cried, grabbing the page before Patty could turn it. "Whatever you do, don't turn that-"

_Riiiiip!_

In her frantic attempts to keep Patty from reading any further, Hiyori tore the last page out in one clean break from the spine. The good news was that her picture was still intact albeit a little wrinkled. The bad news…

Patty's eyes, previously narrowed in fiendish delight, shot open wide as dinner plates as they landed on the last page of Hiyori's sketchbook.

"No…" Hiyori mouthed in mute horror as Patty's lips fell open in slack jawed awe.

"Oh…my…" Patty said breathlessly as she scanned the page.

In the half hour that she had been gone, Hiyori had managed to sketch a complete picture of Kagami and Konata as they knelt on the grass just outside the window. Their eyes were half closed and their lips were hovering mere inches away from each other as their arms snaked up to tangle their fingers in each other's hair.

"_I really admire you Kona-chan; maybe more than I should_?!" Patty quoted, looking up at her mortified friend. "Hiyorin! I'm surprised at you!" Hiyori cringed, covering her face as it blushed red. "Peeping on them on their _graduation day _no less!" Patty frowned, lightly rapping Hiyori on the head with her own sketchbook.

"I swear I didn't mean to! I was just walking by and I was looking for the bathroom and I came in here because I thought I heard voices and I looked out the window and…and…" Hiyori pulled at her hair agitatedly. "I couldn't help it…"

Patty sighed, turning back to the drawing with a smile. "What are we going to do with you…?"

Hiyori hung her head in shame. "Commit me. It's for my own good."

"Nonsense!" Patty said, handing Hiyori her sketchbook who grabbed it without hesitation. "An imagination like yours needs to be harnessed for the good of otaku everywhere! And besides…" Patty smiled. "Sugary dialogue aside, you're actually getting good at this."

"R-really?" Hiyori asked hesitantly.

"Yep!" Patty said, enthusiastically. "I mean, I'm no art critic, but I can tell that you've really been defining your style; this is a lot better than your earlier stuff"

Hiyori blushed lightly at Patty's sudden complement. "Thanks…"

Patty shrugged off her thanks, standing up and dusting herself off. "Well, we should probably get back to Miyuki-san's room. I guess if we're gone too long, people will come looking for us." Patty paused at the door, looking back at Hiyori.

"And besides, we don't want to keep your little manga models waiting, do we?"

Throwing a wink over her shoulder, Patty lightly bounced out of the room, humming a few bars of her favorite anime song. Hiyori only blushed, mumbling to herself as she picked up her scattered sketchbook.

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"France? Really?"

Minami nodded slowly, taking a sip from her freshly opened soda before answering her friend. "That's what she said." Minami said softly, thoughtfully chewing on the end of her straw.

Yutaka shifted from her spot on the cushion, nibbling on a cookie. "I knew Miyuki-san wanted to go to medical school, but why France?"

"Well," Minami said, "She said something about this school having a good medical research program; that's what she wants to specialize in. At first she was planning to stay in Japan and go to a more local university but then this college offered her a scholarship and so…but she hasn't told anyone yet, so don't tell your cousin. "

Yutaka nodded earnestly. "Of Course! Although…I can't imagine being that far away from home for so long…but I guess if a school like that offered to pay for her tuition, it would be silly of her not to take them up on it, right?"

"Yeah…I guess so." Minami mumbled more to herself than to Yutaka.

The change in her friend's tone was not lost on Yutaka whose brow crinkled in worry. "Hey, is everything okay Minami-chan?"

"Huh?" Minami looked up quickly as if Yutaka's question had interrupted her train of thought before shaking her head and smiling reassuringly. "Oh, yes; everything's fine."

Yutaka remained unconvinced, but decided not to press the issue. For now, she busied herself with nibbling on her cookie, deciding to ask again later. "Anyway, it's lucky that Miyuki-san got a scholarship; college is getting expensive these days!"

Minami nodded. "I guess cost is a factor for a lot of students in choosing a school."

"Onee-chan even said that some schools are having to cut back on the number of students they let in." Yutaka said. "Even schools like Tokyo and Kyoto are having problems with student housing."

"I guess one of the downsides to applying to a good school like that is having to compete with a lot of other kids." Minami said, thoughtfully. "Do you want some more water?" She said, gesturing to Yutaka's empty glass.

"Uh…" Yutaka trailed off as Minami rested in a half kneel, as if she were waiting for a cue to get up and refill her glass. "No thanks! You don't have to get me aA-CHOO!" Yutaka covered her nose as a thunderous sneeze suddenly caused her to jump slightly

Minami looked sideways at her smaller friend, eyes tinged with concern. "Is that still from that cold you had last week?"

"Oh, yeah…" Yutaka said. "But, I'm feeling a lot better! Really, there's no need to go through any-"

"If you want to get any better, you need to drink plenty of fluids…" Minami reached across the table to collect Yutaka's glass.

"But really, I'm fine! You don't need to make a…a…ACHOO!" Yutaka wiped her nose with the corner of her sleeve as another sneeze betrayed her.

Minami shook her head, standing up as she did so. "It's no trouble; I need to refill my drink anyway."

"But…" Yutaka looked at Minami's glass; still full save for a couple sips. "You-"

"And you should really have some tea when you get home." Minami said, heading for the door before Yutaka could say anything else. "Stay here; I'll be back in a sec."

Yutaka started to go after her but not two seconds after she left, Hiyori and Patty came through the door, talking quietly to each other.

"But _Kona-chan_?" Patty sighed. "Really?"

"Yeah, so?" Hiyori said.

"When has she _ever _been "Kona-chan?"

Hiyori shrugged. "That sort of familiarity step is common in these relationship scenarios. I thought it could be part of her character's development."

"Character _derailment _is more like it…" Patty mumbled.

"I thought it would be cute change of pace!" Hiyori insisted.

Yutaka looked helplessly at her friends, as confused as if they were speaking Portuguese. "Hey, what are you guys talking about?" She asked curiously.

Patty and Hiyori shared a look before nervously glancing back at Yutaka. "Sunsets, Yuu-chan." Patty said simply. "Sunsets."

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"I still can't believe that you're going to be graduating with us, Patty-chan!" Yutaka said, enthusiastically. "So you're really staying in Japan?"

"For another two years at least." Patty said. "I was surprised my marks were good enough to stay here but they were better than I had originally feared so..." Patty left it at that, trailing off sheepishly.

Minami nodded. "That's great but…I mean is your family okay with this?"

Patty nodded earnestly. "I talked to my Dad about it and he's been as supportive as he's always been. He says as long as I'm safe and happy I can stay here as long as I want."

"Oh? And what about all the "faithful" waiting for their sensei to enlighten them in the ways of the Japanese otaku?" Hiyori grinned.

Patty rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Oh…well…you see…"

"Guess the flock can wait huh?" Hiyori said, sipping her drink and smiling as Patty nervously pushed her fingers together.

Minami and Yutaka shared a brief glance of confusion as Patty hastily reclaimed the conversation. "H-hey, do you guys know if Tsukasa-san heard anything about that cooking school?"

Yutaka nodded. "Onee-chan said that she's applying to a cooking school in Tokyo. Nothing's really for sure yet, but Tsukasa-san has always been great at baking!"

"Well, she's lucky that she's able to do what she likes." Patty said, helping herself to another one of Tsukasa's cookies.

"That's the dream, isn't it?" Hiyori said. "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life. I hope all our fiends can be so lucky."

"Here's hoping." Patty said, knocking on the wooden tabletop.

A knock at the door announced the arrival of Konata, who stuck her head in the room. "Uhh…Yuu-chan?"

"Hmm? What's up Onee-chan?" Yutaka said.

"Well, we should probably get going." Konata said nervously. "Dad's getting comfortable enough around everyone to start saying weird things so…" Yutaka gave an involuntary shiver as Patty and Hiyori nodded sympathetically.

"I feel your father's pain, sempai." Hiyori said, fingering the cover of her sketchbook.

Yutaka stood up after her cousin. "Well, I guess we should leave, then."

Minami nodded, following Yutaka's suit. "I should probably go feed Cherry…"

Patty nodded, following Minami out the door. "The last train should be running soon; you going home too, Hiyori-chan?" She called back

"I guess I should. I wanted to restock my notepads, but I guess that can wait until tomorrow."

As the four of them wound their way through the house, all around them there were signs that the party was over. Miyuki and Tsukasa came in from the backyard, teary-eyed but smiling as Konata struggled to pull her father away from the Hiiragi's before he could elaborate on his explanation of yuri. Minami and Miyuki's mother were chatting pleasantly as they picked up the stray plates and cups that littered the living room. Yui was in the process of helping a _very_inebriated Kuroi out the door while trying to slip her keys out of her pocket.

Yutaka couldn't help but notice her cousin and her friends clustered together and talking off to the side of all the commotion. Someone must have said something funny because they all started giggling hysterically. Then, one by one, each of them left through the front door as their families left, thanking Miyuki and her mother for throwing the celebration. For some unknown reason, Yutaka couldn't help watching as one by one the older girls left.

"Hey Yuu-chan! C'mon! Let's go!"

As if a spell was broken, Patty's voice called from the walkway out front and caused Yutaka to break from her daydream to see her friends already outside; chatting with her cousin as they slowly meandered their way to their cars.

"Coming!" Yutaka said, crossing the threshold into the warm summer night and joining her friends

"So do you guys want to do something later this week?" Hiyori asked.

"I'll see what I can do…" Patty said. "I may be pulling extra shifts at the café."

"Well…we can always meet up at my place." Minami volunteered shyly.

"Ooh! Maybe we can have a sleepover!" Yutaka said, excitedly.

"I guess we could sleep over this weekend…I'll talk to my mom…"

"That reminds me; I still have that doujin I borrowed from you, Hiyori-chan." Patty said

"Oh, I totally forgot about that until just now! Kinda weird how I don't remember where my stuff is, huh?"

"Nah, it happens to me all the time. I won't realize I'm missing something until it turns up behind the couch or underneath the bed."

"I guess I'm kinda forgetful like that too, huh Minami-chan?"

"I guess so…"

Konata let Yutaka and her friends walk a couple paces ahead of her as they were embroiled in a heated discussion about missing items and forgetting important things. Lost in her own world, she didn't notice Miyuki, Tsukasa and Kagami fall in step beside her until they stopped at the gate leading out of Miyuki's house. She glanced back and forth between the younger girls walking ahead and her friends standing beside her. Seeing her distant gaze and wistful smile mirrored in their expressions, she could tell that they were thinking the same thing she was.

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_AN: Whew! Sorry that was long; this was more of an expeditionary chapter than anything else but i promise the plot will arrive in the next chapter (though, seeing as it's Lucky Star, it's going to be more of a theme__ versus a solid plot) I hope that they'll read more like one-shots bound by an overarching history so read and review please! And thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter too! Your feedback was very helpful. _

_I'm also playing with the idea of running a parallel story to this one about Konata and Kagami in Kyoto so let me know what you guys think about that!_

_Bye-nee! _

_DOTMW_


	4. Chapter Two: Sayonara Summer

_Lucky Legacy _

_Chapter Two_

_Sayonara Summer_

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_Knock-Knock-Knock_

A sliver of light illuminated the darkened room as Tamura-san stuck a head in her daughter's room. "Hiyori?" She called tentatively into the dark. "Are you in here, honey?" Sitting with her head on her desk, illuminated by a single lamp, Hiyori rolled on her side to look at her mother, giving an unintelligible groan in her sleep. "Hiyori, your friends are here to see you." Stepping away from the light, a pair of taller silhouettes took her place.

"Thank you, Tamura-san…Hiyori?" Patty hesitantly entered the room, followed by an even more uncertain Minami. "Is everything al-" Patty's question died as Hiyori twitched listlessly on her desk. "Oooh…I'll take that as a no…"

"I-Is she going to be alright?" Minami asked, peeking over Patty's shoulder as she prodded the exhausted artist in the side with the end of a pencil.

"Hard to say." Patty said gravely. "Looks like she's been up for a few days, at least."

Time, as any leading smartypants will tell you, is relative. So while the amount of time in between the days of summer stays the same, the way they pass can vary from person to person.

Take Patty for example. One of the conditions that allowed for her continued stay in Japan was that she had to return to California for a few weeks to visit her father and sister. For all her fussing and complaining, Patty ended up enjoying the hustle and bustle of her San Francisco neighborhood. Between helping out at her sister's game shop, catching up with old friends and camping with her dad, Patty barely noticed the weeks flying by until she returned to Japan, tanner and trimmer than she left.

Hiyori, on the other hand, found it harder to enjoy her summer break. As much as she promised herself that she was going to "dedicate her vacation to her art," motivation was hard to come by. She would make every effort to work on her latest doujinshi for Comiket, laying out her pens, pencils and notepaper at the beginning of the day and fully expecting a flush of inspiration to pour on to the page. But no matter how many doodles, storyboards and four-panels she drew, they all ended up crumpled on the floor in a grey, smeared mess.

It was in this state of artistic squalor that Minami and Patty found Hiyori in, reflexively poking away at a page covered in doodles.

"Do you think…we should do something?" Minami asked Patty as she made her way over to the curtains on the other side of her bed.

"Close your eyes." Patty warned, donning a pair of sunglasses. Before Minami could ask her what she meant, Patty whisked the curtains back, flooding the room with sunlight. Almost immediately, Hiyori's eyes shot open as she sat straight up in her seat.

"Whuzzhappngn?" Hiyori mumbled, wiping her mouth with the back on her hand.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!" Patty said cheerfully, hopping down from the bed.

"P-Patty-chan?" Hiyori mumbled, rubbing her eyes furiously, before looking at Minami. "Iwasaki-san? What're you doing here?"

"Rescuing you, of course." Patty said, peeling off a doodle that had somehow stuck itself to Hiyori's cheek.

Hiyori frowned in confusion before turning to Minami for a better answer. "Yutaka-chan invited us over to her house." Minami said. "Patty-chan called you yesterday but there was no answer…we were worried…" Minami said, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt

"Mmm…" Hiyori said dimly, looking around for her glasses. "Sorry about that; inspiration finally struck."

"Looks like inspiration struck you pretty hard." Patty giggled, noting Hiyori's disheveled appearance.

Hiyori blushed, pulling at her tangled hair. "Okay, okay…give me minute. I'll be down in a second."

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"So how was your trip, PAAAAAAAAAAAAAty-chan?" Hiyori said through a long yawn.

Patty looked sideways at her friend walking beside her. "You _sure_ you're okay?"

"Totally…" Hiyori mumbled, rubbing her eyes for the thirtieth time since they left her house. "This, ladies, is just the byproduct of two weeks of creativity releasing itself in the span of a single ni-ni-night…" Hiyori stifled another yawn. "Probably gonna hurt me tomorrow, but…Comiket's only a month away and I wish I could say this kind of creativity came regularly."

"I guess if you're doing something you love, you lose track of time." Patty said thoughtfully, rounding the corner to Konata's house. "But you still have a few weeks to get off your little summer schedule before school starts."

"Ugh…don't remind me." Hiyori said in disgust as Minami knocked on the door.

"_Hold on!" _A familiar voice came from the other side of the door as she undid the locks and chains on her side of the door.

Konata smiled as she opened the door, seeing the taller girl leading her friends. "Minami-chan, Hiyori-chan! Hey Patty, how's it going?"

"Hello Konata-san." Minami said softly, looking past her. "Is Yu-chan he-"

"Oy, _chibi!_" Minami was cut short as Misao's tanned features popped out from behind Konata (who looked none too pleased at Misao's favorite nickname for her). "Is it okay if I use your-" Misao's eyes brightened as she noticed the girls in the door. "Hey! Looks like the gang's all here!"

"All…here?" Minami said hesitantly. She didn't know Yutaka had invited so many people.

"_Who's_ all here, Misa-chan?" Minami's eyes fell on Misao's orange haired best friend as Ayano came in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Oh, hello girls! This _is_ a surprise; I didn't know Yu-chan invited her friends too."

"How have you two been?" Patty said enthusiastically, slipping past Minami who suddenly found herself at a loss for words. "I haven't seen you guys all summer."

Misao slipped an arm around Ayano's shoulder. "Well, we've been out and about in the midst of a beautiful renaissance of friendship. A _frien-isssance _if you will."

Ayano smiled, shaking her head. "Our families planned a little vacation on Okinawa." She said, moving away from the door to let the girls in. "We've been having so much fun together, I've barely been home all summer."

Misao scratched the back of her head nervously. "Yeah; I've been hogging her so much I'm starting to think that her boyfriend is getting jealous of me."

Ayano blushed furiously, swatting Misao on the arm. "Misa-chan!" she chided in a soft whisper, prompting a giggle from her friend.

"I'm teasin', I'm teasin'. Hey Hiiragi, look who showed up!" Misao led Patty and Hiyori, followed by an uncertain looking Minami, into the living room.

Kagami closed her cell phone and looked up from a sheet of paper, covered in what looked like various names and addresses. "Hey." She grunted shortly, before turning back to her paper.

"Apartment hunting brings out her most charming qualities, doesn't it?" Konata said.

Miyuki smiled apologetically. "Please excuse Kagami-san's demeanor. She is under a lot of stress at the moment."

"Well, I guess it's lucky that I'm living at home then." Tsukasa said, wiping a bit of flour off her cheek with the corner of her apron. "Hi girls!" She said, bringing a tray of cookies in from the kitchen.

"Hey Tsukasa-san!" Hiyori greeted cheerfully. "Is that shortbread?"

"Mm-hmm. I'm trying out a new recipe so let me know if you like it!"

"I'm sure it'll be great." Patty said, popping an offered cookie in her mouth. "Yhu wnt ne Mhnumh-chn?" Patty asked Minami, who was currently lingering nervously by the door.

"Oh…n-no thank you. N-not right now…" Minami said quietly, casting furtive glances at the hallway as if she was expecting someone.

The look was not lost on Konata, who smirked to herself. "Yutaka's upstairs getting ready, in case you were wondering."

"Wha? Oh, no…I…well…not really…" Minami looked down, fidgeting and fighting a rising blush in her cheeks. Konata shared a knowing look with Miyuki who stifled a giggle behind her hand.

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"…so then the dentist says to the magician, "Don't crush that dwarf; hand me the pliers!"

Misao and Tsukasa descended into a fit of giggles while everyone else looked at Patty blankly.

"You know…" Patty went on, looking at her friend's confused faces. "Hand me…the pliers…"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha HA!" Misao wiped her eyes.

"That was funny, Patty-chan!" Tsukasa agreed.

Yutaka looked up at Minami. "Umm…Minami-chan?"

Minami gave her friend a helpless look and a noncommittal shrug. "Sorry…I didn't get it either…"

Patty was about to try and explain it again, but a Kagami's irritated voice preceded her into the room.

"But that's per month?!" Kagami asked into the receiver, hand on hip. "Per month?! Yeah…I'm gonna hang up now."

Stowing her phone in her pocket, Kagami shook her head in exasperation before sitting down between Tsukasa and Konata.

"I take it another prospective landlord made you an offer you had to refuse." Konata said, passing Kagami the plate of cookies.

"Well the price in the advertisement was about three-thousand yen less than what he just said on the phone…" Kagami sighed, taking a cookie. "I'm just glad I'm taking care of this early; I'm gonna really pity you when _you _have to go looking for a place to live, Konata."

Konata cocked her head in confusion. "What d'you mean, Kagami?"

"I mean you haven't really shown any inclination that you're taking care of your apartment rental so I assumed you were going to deal with it later." Kagami shrugged. "I mean it's up to you but from my experience the sooner you get on this the better off you'll be in the long run."

Konata waved her off. "Oh, don't worry about me; I got that squared away a long time ago."

Kagami nearly choked on her cookie, whacking her chest a few times to dislodge the chunks of cookie from her throat. "Wh-What do you mean _you got that squared away a long time ago?" _

Konata looked at Kagami in confusion. "I mean…I got it taken care of…a long time ago…"

"I know, but-"

"My dad had this friend in Kyoto who worked for Nin---do." Konata went on. "The company wants him to join their American division so he had to move out last month." Konata jerked her head in the direction of her bedroom. "Dad and Yu-chan have been a big help packing."

"It's okay, I don't mind." Yu-chan said. "Although…sometimes Nee-chan makes me leave the room when she's going through certain stuff…"

Konata poked at her cookie, refusing to look at either Patty or Hiyori shot knowing glances in her direction.

Kagami sighed, twirling the end of her pigtail in agitation. "Great…I have two weeks before I start school and I still don't have a place to live…"

"Well, I suppose the lack of student housing is affecting more students than you thought." Miyuki said.

"That, and a lot of landlords won't rent to college kids." Ayano said with a sigh. "It took me forever to look for a decent place."

"It's discrimination!" Misao huffed indignantly. "They must think we're gonna wreck the place or something! Just cause we're young!"

"Yeah, but what can you do?" Kagami sighed. "It's their place to rent to whoever they want to."

"Wow…I never really thought about it…" Konata said thoughtfully. "But I guess I'm pretty lucky that I got the place I did."

"HEY!" Everyone looked at Yutaka who looked eagerly across the table. "If Kagami-san needs a place to stay, why doesn't she stay with you, nee-san?"

Silence.

"Uh…well…you see, Yu-chan…" Kagami started to speak several times but fell short of actually completing a sentence. The gleaming look in Yutaka's eyes made it impossible to say no. "I…I really don't want to…impose…I mean, Konata has probably been looking forward to living on her own…right Konata?" Kagami glanced over at Konata who was gnawing on a cookie thoughtfully.

"Hmm…actually, Yutaka's got a point there…"

"R-really?" Kagami said.

"Well, yeah. I mean you _do _need a place to stay with school coming up. You could even keep looking for an apartment while you're staying with me, if you want." Konata gave a nervous chuckle. "And I'm not gonna lie; I could use some help with the rent while I'm looking for a job."

"It's just…I don't know…" Kagami fidgeted nervously. "Wouldn't it be kinda…weird living together?"

"Weird? Why?"

"Well…I know there are times when we can seriously grate on each other's nerves…" Kagami began.

Konata rolled her eyes. "Oh, c'mon Kagamin. We practically spent all day together when we were in high school. The only difference is that we'd be eating and sleeping together."

_BANG!_

Everybody jumped as Hiyori's knee suddenly hit the table, causing her glass to knock over.

"Oi! Watch it!" Patty yelped as Hiyori's milk spilled on her dress.

"You okay, Hiyori-chan?" Tsukasa asked, handing Hiyori a towel to wipe up the mess.

"S-s-sorry…" Hiyori gulped, wiping up her spill. "I-I-I just…"

_~~~~"Here, Kagami-chan…" Konata said in a sultry voice as she lifted the strawberry to her partner's lips. "Open wide…" ~~~~_

"I…I just…"

~~~~ _"Ah! Kona-chan!" Kagami gasped, eyes widening. "S-so this is what you meant by sleeping…together…"~~~~_

"HIYORIN!"

Patty snapped her fingers a few times, waking Hiyori from her daydream to see that everyone was looking at her. "S-sorry…s-spaced out there for a second."

_Control yourself! _Hiyori silently reprimanded herself.

Patty took another towel, wiping up the spill and leaning in to whisper, "You fixated on "eating and sleeping together" didn't you?"

Hiyori blushed beet red. "Shhh!"

Kagami stared blankly at Hiyori for a few seconds before turning back to Konata. "Well, I still have a few more calls to make…but I'll definitely think about it…Thanks Konata."

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"Damnit…" Patty said, gritting her teeth as her Sam-s took another thunderbolt from Konata's Pik-ch-. After lunch, the girls had wandered into the living room where a heated game of S-per S-ash Br-s was raging between Patty, Hiyori and Konata while the others looked on, chatting to themselves.

"He he he…you are strong young ones." Konata said, dodging another one of Hiyori's arrows. "But not…strong…enough!!" With a sliding tackle, Pik-ch- knocked Hiyori's L-nk off the edge, taking her final life.

"Ack!" Hiyori sighed, dropping her controller and clutching her chest, falling against Patty's shoulder. "Avenge me!"

"Hiyori!" Patty cried melodramatically. "Bastard! I won't forgive this! TASTE MY STORM OF LOYALTY!!!"

"You are on the way to destruction." Konata said in her best creepy monotone. "I have memorized the probability of all logical attack patt-"

"Memorize THIS!" Patty cried in triumph, unleashing her ultimate attack, depleting Konata's last life. "Memorize Patricia Martin!"

Kagami walked in on the middle of Patty and Hiyori's victory celebration. "Well…that was as bad as the last one. Konata…I might end up having to take you up on your-"

"Nooooooo!" Konata cried now in full over-the-top cosplay fashion. "I…can't…believe…I lost…to this SCUM!!!"

"Ehh…" Kagami's eye twitched at the scene.

Misao chuckled at Kagami's expression, leaning in to whisper in Kagami's ear. "So that's your new roommate, huh?"

Kagami sighed as Konata heatedly demanded a rematch. "Yeah…I guess so."

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So passed the last few weeks of summer.

In that time, Kagami and Konata hammered out plan in which she and Konata would share her friend's until Kagami could find another place. Through that, another promise bound the newest residents of Kyoto together. Though Kagami would do her best to look for another place to live, the apartment hunting was lost in the shuffle of new classes and the pressures of college life. At the time, neither of them knew that living together would have a fresh share of headaches they would have to work through. Neither of them knew how much they would come to rely on each other for support; each made good on her promise to be there for the other. Neither of them could have predicted how close they would become.

But all this was still to come. For the older girls, the end of summer meant the beginning of the next great adventure in their lives. For Yutaka and her friends, the end of summer meant saying goodbye.

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_AN: Okay, I know there is still a lot dealing with the older girls but I want this to be more of an exposition chapter. The next chapter will be the last one to set the stage before the spotlight exclusively focuses on Yutaka's group. I've decided not to do the parallel fic now (I may still come back to it after this story is done) because I need to focus all my energy on this one. As always, please read and review_

_Next Time on Lucky Legacy! As summer winds down, the seniors prepare to embark on the next chapter of their lives. Meanwhile, the start of school looms around the corner and Hiyori has an interesting dream that sets in motion events that will change her life. _

_Look forward to it!_


	5. Chapter Three: Curtain Call

_Lucky Legacy_

_Chapter Three_

_Curtain Call  
_

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_Thursday Night_

As with everything, summer slowly drew to a close. The weeks leading up to the older girls' departure seemed to go faster and faster for them as they tried to get everything sorted away at home. For Yutaka, her house was a maze of moving boxes overflowing with her cousin's seemingly bottomless collection of anime and manga. When she wasn't packing, Konata was on the phone with representatives from several prospective employers (Apparently, she hadn't even sent her résumé's out when the calls started coming in. When Yutaka asked about it, Konata waved her hand and said something involving the "legend of the B-girl")

"Who was that, nee-chan?" Yutaka looked up from a board game she and Patty were playing as Konata entered the room.

Konata shrugged, flopping down on the couch next to Hiyori who was doodling on her sketchpad. "Oh, that was just another call from Dad's friend. His flight leaves tomorrow so Dad went to Kyoto to send him off…and pick up the keys to the apartment. With any luck we can start moving all this stuff as soon as he gets back…" Konata sighed, grabbing a book from one of the boxes stacked by the couch, lazily flipping through it.

"Are you pretty much packed, Konata?" Patty asked.

"Yep, just finished packing my clothes over there." Konata waved over to three solitary boxes marked "Clothes" dwarfed by the towers of boxes marked "DVD's" and "Books."

"Kagami's nearly done with her stuff too." Konata continued with a smile. "Tsukasa called last night; seems like her big sister has been twisting herself into knots trying to get everything ready."

Hiyori frowned in confusion. "I thought you weren't moving until Saturday."

"Yeah, well that's Kagami for you." Konata said with a light laugh. "She's always been like this, for as long as I can remember anyway."

"You met her around the same time you met Tsukasa-san, didn't you?" Hiyori asked.

"Kinda part of the twin package I guess." Konata said, flipping her book closed. "I told you how I met Tsukasa, right?" The girls nodded, the memory of the unlucky foreigner drawing identical grimaces of sympathy. "Well after that poor guy limped away, Kagami came wheeling around the corner, nearly knocking the guy over as she did. Apparently, they got separated in the crowd at the station…anyway; she takes one look at Tsukasa looking all scared and then she looks at me and she must have got the impression that _I _was bullying her sister. So she just _rips_ into me, snorting and spitting breathing fire all over me for daring, _daring _to lay a hand on her sister…" As she was talking, Yutaka noticed a smile spreading over her cousin's face. "And…Tsukasa kept trying to get a word in edgewise and Kagami kept waving her off and describing to me, in graphic detail, all things she would do to me if I ever…_If I EVER _came near her sister again…well, as Tsukasa started to explain her side of the story, Kagami started getting red, and I mean _red…_I never thought she'd stop apologizing…" Konata chuckled. "I even think she apologized _again _when she ran into me at school the next day."

"Bet that was the last time, _that _happened, huh?" Patty teased.

Konata sheepishly scratched her cheek. "Yeah, since then _I'm_ usually one pissing her off, _I'm_ usually the one apologizing…"

Hiyori sighed. "It's amazing the way two people can meet completely by chance and then fall totally in-" Hiyori's rational mind kicked in and stopped her from finishing her sentence. "Falling in_to…_an…apartment together!" Hiyori finished enthusiastically, flipping her notebook closed.

Konata blinked at her for a moment before turning back to Patty. "I guess you never know right away whether you're gonna be friends with someone until you spend time with them."

Hiyori shared a sideways glance with Patty. "Actually, Patty and I have been pretty tight ever since we met."

Patty chuckled. "I guess diving for the last copy of Ang-lic D-ys proves we at least have the same tastes in manga."

Hiyori subconsciously rubbed her head as if it had just banged into something. "Now that I think about it…the odds of colliding into a foreign exchange student with the same interests as me is pretty slim. It's a miracle we ended up meeting each other, let alone that we became friends."

Patty shrugged in assent. "I can't really say how it happened; it must have been fate or something…"

Konata suddenly got a dreamy look in her eye. "_Ah sweet fate…_ _It's amazing the way two people can meet completely by chance and then fall totally-" _

"Woah, woah, woah, woah!" Hiyori butted in. "D-don't you have packing left to do, sempai?"

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_Friday Afternoon _

The afternoon sun filtered through the trees behind Minami's house in shafts of warm honey-colored light. Though the air was thick and muggy with the last days of summer, Minami lay out on the back deck, head pillowed against Cherry's warm back and looking up at the sky. Truth be told, Minami enjoyed these little moments to herself as much as she enjoyed time she spent with her friends. It gave her time to unwind and think without anyone interrupting her. Her mother knew that when her daughter was lying on the back steps, she needed to be left to her thoughts.

Minami heard a clatter of voices from over the fence and looked up to see the top of the moving van twitch as the movers loaded something heavy in the back. Minami gave a little start (causing Cherry to snap her head up in agitation) realizing that the red and white striped van that was moving Miyuki _out _of her house belonged to the same company that had helped her move _in _almost ten years before.

That had been the first time she had met Miyuki. Her mother had tugged her through a maze of movers and moving boxes to meet her new neighbors. She remembered the older girl, bowing politely to her as she hid behind her mother's leg.

They hadn't planned on it, but seeing as how their mothers has taken to each other like fish to water, Minami and Miyuki became each other's first friends. Something in Miyuki's calm, understanding demeanor resonated with Minami. She wasn't boisterous or particularly energetic but she resonated a warm, welcoming aura that invited others to talk to her. Even after they had moved on to school and met other people, Minami had shared a special bond with her neighbor. In everything they did, they were each other's touchstone. At the end of the day, Minami could always rely on Miyuki for advice and in turn, Miyuki could rely on Minami for a sympathetic ear to talk to. As their parents had said so many times, they were sisters separated by blood.

Now the same van that had brought Miyuki to her was taking her away.

Suddenly, the back door opened and Cherry stood up, causing Minami's head to lightly bump against the deck.

"Oof!" Minami grunted as she fell back against the deck.

"Oh, dear…are you alright?"

Minami looked up to see an upside-down Miyuki, lightly stroking Cherry's head and looking down at Minami with worried eyes.

"Oh…Miyuki…" Minami said, sitting up and lightly rubbing her head. "What're you doing here? I thought you had things to pack still…"

"Well, I've been packing all day and I feel like I need a break…" Miyuki sighed, dusting her skirt off and sitting down on the step next to Minami. Cherry, not wanting to be left out, squeezed her way between the girl and laid her head on Minami's lap. "I'm almost finished anyway."

"So…you're almost ready to go then?"

Miyuki glanced briefly sideways before turning back across the yard. "Yes. I've sent some of my things ahead already."

"And your flight leaves tonight?"

Miyuki smoothed her skirt absentmindedly. "Yes…I'm catching a late flight so I can have time to set up before school starts on Monday."

"Mmm…" Minami murmured evenly. "I guess you can never be too prepared…"

"I've always felt that way myself; I've even been brushing up on my French again."

Minami's scratched Cherry behind the ear, gently plucking a stray seed that had tangled in her fur. "I think you'll be fine; you've always spoken very well."

"The trouble with learning a foreign language is finding someone to practice with." Miyuki said. "Not many students take it after they satisfy their requirements and even then, French isn't the most popular; English is more practical."

Minami smiled quietly. "Well…I would help you out but…"

Miyuki giggled. "No, no, it's fine. Mother does her best to help me out but I'm afraid her college French is rather rusty!"

They shared a laugh and then they were quiet for a while, which suited Cherry just fine. She laid her head between the girls on the deck, letting Minami scratch her head and Miyuki rub her back.

Finally, Minami broke the silence. "Are…are you nervous?"

It was quiet again as Miyuki considered Minami's question. "A little…though I suppose it's natural to feel like this." Minami glanced over to see that Miyuki's peaceful semi-smile hadn't left her face.

"But…aren't you worried about your friends here?" Minami asked. "I mean…I know this school has a big international program, but you'll probably be the only Japanese girl there…" Minami trailed off in mid thought.

Miyuki turned to Minami with a curious smile. "Are you trying to say something, Minami?" she asked with a gentle laugh.

Minami took a moment to compose her thoughts. "Aren't you worried…that you won't have anyone to talk to? I mean, you're one of the friendliest people I know but…what if you don't like your classmates or…what if they don't like you? I worry that-" But the rest of Minami's sentence was lost in a gentle giggle muffled by Miyuki's hand.

"I'm sorry…" Miyuki said, noticing the color of Minami's cheeks. "I just…do you remember sitting here about this time last year?" Minami nodded quietly, thinking back to the talk she and Miyuki had before the first day of school. "I remember you were worried about the same things you're worried about now. The only difference is you were worried about you instead of me."

Minami blinked thoughtfully in realization. "I…well…" After the first day of school, she hadn't really remembered how nervous she had been the day before.

"Before the start of something new, it's natural to feel a little nervous." Miyuki said. "I think if you asked most people, they'd be happy if they could just go about their lives the way they are right now. But…" Miyuki bit her lip thoughtfully. "Then we'll never do anything new. We have to keep moving forward if we want to grow as people."

"I guess if you look it like that…" Minami trailed off thoughtfully.

"Speaking of growth, I have to say…" Miyuki said, leaning back on her elbows. "I'm really surprised how much you've grown over the past year."

Minami felt her cheeks flush at the sudden compliment. "R-really?"

Miyuki nodded. "I'm really very happy for you…that you've found good friends that understand you and bring out the best in you." Miyuki lay a hand on Minami's arm. "I'm glad they got to know the you that I know."

Minami was taken back for a moment but then returned Miyuki's smile. "Yeah…I'm glad too…"

"I just remembered something I read somewhere…" Miyuki said. "There was this Spanish poet that once said, "Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are."

Minami thought about it for a second then to Miyuki's surprise, she burst into a stream of giggles that caused Cherry to stir, irritated.

"So…" Minami fought her giggles down long enough respond to Miyuki's curious gaze. "If your poet took a look at our friends…what do you think that poet would say about _us_?"

Miyuki shared glance with Minami for a split second before she joined Minami in a fit of uncontrollable giggling.

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_Friday Night _

"Okay…Laptop…check….bookbag…check…Books…check…notebooks…check……skirts…check…shirts…check…shoes…check…"

Kagami ticked off each item on her list, sweeping her eyes over the piles of boxes in the front hall to ensure that everything was here and nothing was missing. Even if her room was gutted and bare, she still wanted to be sure that she hadn't left anything out; it would do nothing for her already frazzled nerves to unpack in Kyoto only to find out that she left her calculator or her toothbrush.

"Ahh!"

The sound of a cake mixer starting up and a startled yelp came from the kitchen drew a heavy sigh from Kagami, who set her clipboard down in an open box of clothes to rush to her sister's aid.

Kagami stuck her head in the kitchen door. "You okay, TsukaACK!" A stray globule of cake mix flew from the wildly spinning beaters and smacked Kagami between the eyes.

"Oh…s-sorry onee-chan…" Tsukasa said sheepishly, unplugging the cake mixer. "There was this bit of flour on the page and the 3 kinda looked like an 8 s-so…I'll get a towel!"

Kagami shook her head, wiping the sticky yellow batter off her forehead and tentatively taking a lick. "Hmm…blueberry and…lemon?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! There was this cake mix I wanted to try out of my new textbook." Tsukasa waved a hand over to a flour dusted cookbook. "It's a little tricky, but I wanted to bake you something while you were packing."

"Oh…I'm almost done with that…" At a loss of what to say Kagami lamely commented on her packing. Tsukasa nodded amiably before turning back to the counter, wiping the rest of the mess off the counter.

"So…I guess tomorrow's the big day." Kagami said, sitting down at the table.

"Mm-hm." Tsukasa responded, cracking a few eggs into a bowl and adding sugar.

Kagami swung her feet loosely off the chair's edge, at a loss for what to say. She, Tsukasa and Konata had seen Miyuki to the airport not four hours ago and since then she had been checking and rechecking her belongings to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

Something about watching Miyuki wave over her shoulder at the gate really hit everything home. This was the last night she was going to spend with Tsukasa for a while, and she couldn't think of what to say to her closest sister.

"Yuki-chan was on the phone earlier…" Tsukasa went on, now beating the eggs and sugar together as she spoke. "Everything went fine with her flight. She called from her apartment and everything is going smoothly with the packers."

"Uh-huh…" Kagami said softly. She looked at Tsukasa pleasantly humming as she mixed her frosting and found it hard to believe she was in tears on her ride home from the airport. Only four hours before, Tsukasa had been inconsolable and now, for all appearances, she looked fine.

"I think I'll make some cookies for you to take with you when you move in tomorrow." Tsukasa said, lightly cleaning the beaters and setting the frosting to cool. "I don't know what you and Kona-chan have planned for tomorrow night as far as dinner is concerned, but at least you'll have-"

"Tsukasa…" Tsukasa looked up from folding in her blueberries at Kagami who was looking down and biting her lower lip.

"What is it, Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked, eyes widening in concern. "Are you alright?"

"Well, yeah…but…" Kagami tried to phrase her thoughts in a way that seemed elegant or profound but she tripped over her own tongue and just decided to blurt it out. "Areyougoingtobealrighthereonyourown?"

"Huh?"

Kagami sighed. "Look…after I leave tomorrow…are you going to be alright here by yourself?"

Tsukasa frowned in confusion. "But I'm not going to be by myself…Mom and Dad and Matsuri-neechan are still going to be-"

"I know, I know!" Kagami cut Tsukasa off. "That's not what I meant…"

Tsukasa looked at her sister for a moment, setting her spatula down and wiping her hands on a towel before turning back to Kagami. "Are you worried about me one-chan?"

"Well…it's not so much _that._" Kagami said. "I mean…I know you're going to be fine with school and everything but…"

"But you're worried that I'm going to miss you." Tsukasa said simply.

Kagami was silent. Tsukasa's response hadn't been a question; it had been a plain observation as if she were commenting on the color of her shirt.

"Of course I'm going to miss you, nee-chan." Tsukasa said simply. "This is going to be the first time we've been apart since…well, since we were born. But…" Tsukasa looked unusually thoughtful for a moment. "I thought about it for a while when we were in the car, coming back from dropping Yuki-chan off at the airport. I guess…I can't really be sad about it."

"So…you're okay with all of this?" Kagami asked.

"Well…I guess I am. But whether or not I'm okay with it, you have to go. I think you'd feel the same way if you were going to school here and I was leaving home." An egg timer dinged lightly and Tsukasa stood up to take the frosting out of the fridge. "Besides…could you get the blue cake pan out of the cupboard, one-chan…I think this is good for us."

"How do you figure?" Kagami asked, tipping the cake pan off the ledge and into her other hand.

"Well…just line the edges with butter…we've always done everything together. Ever since we were kids, we've kinda grown up…oh, make sure you get the edges? As I was saying; we've kinda grown up as one person. Now that you're…could you give the batter another turn? Now that you're leaving, I think we have a chance to really come into our own. To do our own things." Tsukasa gently took the pan from Kagami, setting it on the counter and pouring in the creamy batter.

"I'm happy for you, onee-chan." Tsukasa said simply, popping the cake in the oven.

Kagami blinked a few times and then smiled. "I'm happy for you too, Tsukasa."

Tsukasa returned the smile, offering Kagami an egg beater still coated in cake batter. "Taste."

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_Saturday Evening_

_Ding-dong!_

"Oh, Hiyori!" Tamura-san called from upstairs. "Could you get the door for me?"

"Hang on a second!!!" Hiyori said, struggling with the problem before her

"I'll get it, Tamura-san!" Patty called, bouncing up from her seat and across the hall.

"Thank you, Patty-chan!" Hiyori's mother called back

_Ding-dong!_

"Hold on a minute!" Patty opened the door to see Yutaka struggling under the weight of a bulging bookbag.

"H-hey, P-patty-chan!" Yutaka groaned.

"Oh, Yutaka! Here, let me…" Patty took the bag from her friend. "Ugh! Is this all your homework?"

"Well, just my books and notebooks." Yutaka said, taking off her jacket. "It seems like a lot, but it's not too much work."

"I hope you're right, Yu-chan…" Hiyori moaned, franticly scribbling answers in her notebook. "Hey Patty, how did Genji's rise to power ultimately mark the beginning of his downfall?"

"What, you think I read?" Patty laughed bitterly, sitting down next to Hiyori.

"Well, we have to put something!!" Hiyori said, flipping through her unused book.

"I don't know…hubris! Put hubris down." Patty said suddenly, writing furiously. "Authors _love _using pride going-ith before the fall! Is that the right character?" Patty said, passing the book to Hiyori.

Hiyori briefly nodded. "I guess that'll work. If you say it like that…"

Yutaka giggled, looking up to see Minami struggling with her tray of snacks. "Oh, here Minami-chan! Let me help you with that!"

"Oh, it's no trouble." Minami said, trying not to spill the drinks. "Really..." Yutaka ignored her friend's protests, taking the bottle of soda over to the table.

"So, how was Kyoto?" Minami asked, sitting down and pouring the soda.

"Oh, it was really nice!" Yutaka said, passing the drinks around the table. "Onee-chan and Kagami-san got settled in just fine and we got home about an hour ago."

"It must be different living with just your uncle now…" Minami said thoughtfully.

Yutaka smiled meekly. "Yeah…I think ojisan is taking it pretty hard actually."

"Well that's understandable." Minami said, looking sideways at Hiyori and Patty, now setting aside their literature and picking up English.

"Why in the world are _you _taking English?" Hiyori asked Patty as she smugly started blowing through the answers.

"I need all the GPA padding I can get." Patty said, looking over Hiyori's shoulder. "And the proper translation is **He went **not **He goes**."

"Thanks…" Hiyori mumbled.

"Think of it as payback for helping me with my essays." Patty said, laying her English aside and reaching for math.

"I guess it pays to finish your homework early, huh Minami-chan?" Yutaka said cheerfully, producing heavy sighs from Hiyori and Patty.

"Oh, no! I didn't mean it to come out like that!!" Yutaka said, raising her hands in an apologetic gesture.

"Don't worry, Yu-chan…" Patty said. "It's our own dumb fault for not getting this done earlier."

"I _would_ have it done earlier if _someone _hadn't wanted to watch a L-ve H-na marathon til three in the morning…" Hiyori mumbled, shooting a poignant glare at Patty

Patty held a hand to her chest, feigning a wounded gesture. "Who's idea was it to hit the video store where we found said classic harem anime?"

"You could have stopped me!" Hiyori groaned.

"You said it was only supposed to be one episode!" Patty insisted.

"Hey!" Minami said gently. "Don't fight…please."

Patty and Hiyori shared a glance. "You're right Minami-chan…we can't turn on each other now." Patty shot an evil glare at her textbooks. "That's just what _it _wants us to do."

Hiyori nodded, glasses glinting in determination. "We won't let it have the satisfaction!"

Patty pointed her pencil straight above her head. "School begins Monday! Victory is at hand!"

There was a beat of silence as Patty's words sunk in.

"School…begins…Monday…" Hiyori echoed in horror.

"Yeah…" Patty sighed. "Being second years does nothing for the impending dread, does it?"

"It shouldn't be too bad, right Minami-chan?" Yutaka said, nervously turning to Minami who was quietly watching everyone.

Minami looked her friends over, from Patty scribbling numbers on the her page with a look of focused energy on her face, to Hiyori secretly correcting Patty's grammar while she wasn't looking before turning to Yutaka, looking up at her for reassurance.

"No…I don't think this year is going to be bad at all…" Minami said softly.

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_Sunday Night_

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_AN: Hiya-Lucky! _

_Whew! That was a long chapter. I really did the best I could to try to not make it corny so that's why most of the goodbyes are cut out; I just couldn't do them in a way that fit the story. So as always, read and review. I'd like to thank everyone for the warm response and good feedback I've gotten so far. _

_Next Time: Hiyori's back to school plans are derailed by a strange dream that she can't stop thinking about! Kuroi learns that, though Konata left, her headache's not over! Next Time, Back to School Blues!  
_

_Bye-nee! _

_DOTMW_


	6. Chapter Four: School Daze

_Lucky Legacy_

_Chapter Four_

_School Daze _

"Mmm…nngh…yaaaHHHHHHHHHHHHH…"

Patty looked at Hiyori out of the corner of her eye as her friend struggled to fight down another jaw-popping yawn. "Having a little trouble coming off your summer schedule, huh Hiyori?"

Hiyori shook her head a couple times in quick succession, earning a few weird stares from the other passengers on the train. "I don't know wh-wh-why I'm not more alert…" Hiyori smacked her lips a few times listlessly, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands before looking at Patty. "Hey…you and I went to bed at the same time last night, right?"

"Yeah…after I got off the phone with you, I called my sister and we talked for a few minutes. But other than that I went to bed."

"Then _how _can _you_ be so perky?" Hiyori demanded.

"Conditioning." Patty said simply. "I've been getting up early for the last two weeks to get my body used it." Patty took a sip from her plastic travel mug. "That, and enough coffee to kill a small dog." She said, shaking the mug for emphasis

Hiyori looked at the mug for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Conditioning…right. Come talk to me after lunch when the caffeine wears off." Hiyori said, rubbing her eyes again.

"Well…" Patty huffed, screwing the lid back on her thermos. "Someone's crabby today…"

"Sorry…" Hiyori said sheepishly. "I couldn't get much sleep last night…kinda had a weird dream."

Patty leaned in, clearly interested. "Go on."

"It's silly." Hiyori insisted as the conductor announced the next stop.

"Silly enough to keep _you _up at night." Patty said. "You have some pretty odd dreams."

Hiyori shook her head. "It's a little fuzzy. I can't really remember much…just little flashes here and there."

"Like what?" Patty prodded.

"Like…a train station…some fish…"

"Fish?"

"Like leftover fish…I dunno…then there was this bright light and then I woke up."

"Hmmm…" Patty crossed her arms thoughtfully. "Well, that's not exactly the weirdest dream you've come to me with…it's close, but I think the one with giant pumpkin eating the gouda takes the cake. "

"I know…it just irked me, that's all…" The train doors slid open and in the midst of the incoming crowd, Yutaka bounced in, standing on her tiptoes and craning her neck until Patty waved her over.

"Good morning, Yu-chan!" Patty said cheerfully, scooting closer to Hiyori so Yutaka could sit on her left.

"Good morning Patty-chan! Good morning Hiyori-chan!" Yutaka cheerfully greeted, hopping up on the bench and laying her bookbag on her lap.

"Ready for school, Yu-chan?" Hiyori asked.

"I guess so…" Yutaka said sheepishly scratching her cheek. "Even though I got plenty of sleep last night, I'm still not used to getting up so early."

"I'll drink to that." Patty said, knocking back another gulp from her mug.

"It'll be a few weeks yet before I'm back to normal." Hiyori said almost sadly.

Patty patted Hiyori reassuringly on the shoulder. "There, there…it'll be alright."

"So…have you guys given any thought about which homeroom we're going to be in?" Yutaka asked

"I'm not sure." Hiyori said. "I don't know much about the upper-class teachers beyond what I've heard from the older girls."

"I remember Konata saying that she was pretty fond of Kuroi-sensei." Patty said.

Yutaka laughed nervously. "Onee-san liked Kuroi-sensei just fine but…"

"Kuroi had her hands full with your cousin, huh?" Hiyori chuckled.

"Yeah…that's…what she…said…" Yutaka trailed off, looking out the window as they pulled up to another stop.

"Where's Minami-chan?" Patty asked, sitting up in her seat to get a better look at the crowd of passengers filing in.

Yutaka bit her lip, scanning the faces of the people filing on to the train. Minami had asked Yutaka to call her when she woke up to make sure that she wouldn't sleep in and miss the train. When she had called this morning, Minami sounded groggy and barely mumbled a "goo mornighg" before the line went dead. Yutaka glanced worriedly out the door, hoping the next person to get on would be-

Suddenly, there was a flash of green and as the doors started to slide closed Minami bolted in, nearly bowling over a young man as she did so. Her hair was still damp and a half-eaten piece of toast was clenched between her teeth but she slid on the train just as it started to roll forward.

"Minami-chan!" Yutaka said, bouncing up and waving her friend over.

"Mmmph…gdd mrni…" Minami blushed scarlet and took the toast out of her mouth. "Uh…good morning everybody." Minami said a little sheepishly.

"We were worried that you weren't gonna make it." Patty said, scooting over to allow Minami to squeeze in between Yutaka and the handrail

"Sorry to have worried you." Minami said, nibbling on her toast. "I-"

"Had a little trouble getting up this morning?" Patty teased gently.

Hiyori gently patted Minami's shoulder. "Don't worry, Minami-chan. We'll get used to it e-e-eyAHHHHHHHHHH"

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"Class 2-B?"

Minami stood on her tiptoes, trying to crane her neck over the crowds of bustling students clamoring for the class lists. She gave the list a once over before turning back to Patty, shaking her head. "No…I don't see our names either."

"Man…" Hiyori sighed, turning away and moving down the hall. "I was kinda hoping to land in one of the first two classes on this floor."

"I know what you mean." Patty said, greeting a former classmate before catching up with the others. "These two are the only ones on the east wing."

"Does that mean we have to pass the all club rooms before we get to our classroom?" Yutaka asked.

"And the science labs." Patty said glumly

"And the judo hall." Minami reminded them.

"I think we just passed the nurse's office." Yutaka said.

"**Lame**." Patty said bluntly.

"What she said." Hiyori added with a sigh.

After passing the aforementioned judo hall, science labs and club rooms (and apparently the janitorial shed) they arrived at class 2-C where a small cluster of students gathered around the class listing.

"I really hope we're in this one…" Patty sighed. "It's either this or 2-D and from what Tatsuki told me, that's where they put the dropouts waiting until they come of age."

A barely visible shudder ran through group and they picked up the pace ever so slightly until Minami could peer over the heads of the students.

"Excuse me…" Minami said, squeezing between two girls to get a better look at the list. "Uh…let's see…well, there's your name Patty…"

"**Yes!" **Patty cheered.

"And Hiyori…and Yutaka in this class too and…"

Minami trailed off as Yutaka and Hiyori made identical sounds of joy but Minami paid them no mind. She checked over the list again to see if she was wrong, but from what she could see, her name wasn't there.

"I…don't think…"

"Wow, I can't believe how lucky we are…" Hiyori said. "I never thought we'd all land in the same class together."

Minami at a loss for what to say, wondered if it would be just better to slip away before the others noticed she wasn't in their class. Maybe if she just slipped away and just explained everything at lunch, then she could-

"Hey Minami-chan…" _Too Late. _Minami thought as Yutaka glanced over the list before turning to look up at her. "I didn't-"

"It's okay, Yutaka." Minami said peaceably. "I'll just-" Minami was cut off by Patty's giggle.

"My kanji may not be that good…" Patty said, leaning in to get a better look. "But it looks to me…"

"I think they misspelled your name, Minami." Hiyori said, pointing to a character smudged by an inkblot.

"Oh…" Minami sighed, more than a little relieved. "For a second there…"

"Yeah, and last I checked my name didn't have an "o" in it." Patty said, crossing her arms. "You would think a teacher would at least be able to put a list in some kind of coherent order."

"This doesn't bode well for us, does it?" Hiyori sighed. "Well, let's get going then..."

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Patty checked her watch, leaning up out of her seat and craning her neck to check out the door. She turned back to the others with a confused shrug. "She's not here yet."

"Man…if I'd known the teacher was going to be _this _late, I would've slept in…" Hiyori mumbled

"Maybe she drives to school and got stuck in traffic today." Minami said

"Maybe she just **flaked **on us." Patty mumbled darkly

"I'm sure she has a good reason." Yutaka said diplomatically. "She probably just-"

_BANG! _

Thirty-two students jumped as the door slammed against its frame. A frazzled mass of blonde hair stuck its way through the door, glancing over the class for a second before ducking out as quickly as it came.

Hiyori looked uneasily at her friends but before she could say anything the door opened again, this time revealing a slightly rumpled Nanako Kuroi, pulling her tousled hair into a long ponytail.

"Well then…" Kuroi said casually, writing her name on the board as if nothing about her untimely entrance and haphazard appearance was out of the ordinary. "Let's begin, shall we?"

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_AN: Lame, lame, lame, lame, oh GOD that was lame. If that chapter felt forced, it's because it was. BUT, and here's the big BUT, I'm finally done with the most painful exposition I've ever written. From here on out, I can write more freeform chapters that should flow more easily. It will get better, I swear! This was just needed to advance the plot. As always, read and review. _

_Bye-nee! _

_DOTMW!_


	7. Chapter Five: Scribblewaltz or Two Duets

_Lucky Legacy _

_Chapter Five_

_Scribblewaltz_

_Or _

_Two Duets _

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_Scribble_

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_Sono omai ga_

_Kanawanakutatte suki na_

_Hito ni suki tte tsutaeru _

_Sore wa kono sekai de_

_Ichiban suteki na koto sa_

"Meh." Patty said, flipping off her TV. "Iffy."

Hiyori rolled her eyes. "It's an out of serial movie based on the series; what did you expect?"

"What I _didn't _expect was what basically amounted to animated fanfiction." Patty sighed, rolling over on her stomach, kicking her legs behind her in a lazy back and forth motion. "It's like they just randomly picked one off the internet and squeezed it into the story."

"Oh it wasn't that bad…" Hiyori said, erasing a stray mark on the page. "The last half was pretty awesome and the fights were pretty well choreographed."

Patty shrugged as best as she could with her shoulders flat on the floor. "So what if it was pretty and well animated; it was boring."

Hiyori sighed. "Well I guess that's the difference between you and me; I can appreciate anime for the animation alone where you need the next great literary marvel to keep you interested."

Patty's legs stopped kicking as Patty shot a glare over her shoulder. "The story doesn't have to be _great _but anime is like any other movie or TV show; it should tell a compelling story. Speaking of which…" Patty flipped over to get a better look at Hiyori. "You've been awfully diligent, scribbling away at your pad there. Are you on to something for the winter gathering?"

"I think so…" Hiyori said. "I've been trying to refine these dreams I've been having lately…"

"Are these the dreams when you use pool cues and an Olympic swimming pool to make the world's largest bowl of ramen? Cause I gotta tell you, that doesn't sound like a promising idea."

"What?" Hiyori shook her head. "No, no, no this is the one I told you about a couple weeks ago…you know, on the first day of school?"

Patty squinted at her for a second. "Are these the dreams when you use pool cues and an Olympic swimming pool to ma-"

"No! The _other _dream." Hiyori said, erasing her trace lines a little harder than she had to.

"Are these the dreams where you're skiing down the mountain and that Yeti just bites you in the b-"

"NO!" Hiyori said, cutting Patty off before she could say anything else. "No, the other _other _dream."

"Are these the dreams where you meet Takahashi Rumiko in a nightclub in Paris and you two hit it off, go back to her place and start to-"

"NO!" Hiyori said, straightening her glasses. "And how is _this _never bringing it up again?"

Patty held up her hands defensively "You have a lot of funky dreams you feel compelled to share with me so _excuse me_ if I get them mixed up from time to time."

Hiyori blushed and coughed in her hand to hide her embarrassment. "You know the one about the train station…the fish…the light…the girl…"

"Ah, the fishy train light, how could I forget?" Patty said blandly. "Wait, what girl?"

"Oh, right." Hiyori blew the eraser marks off the page, flipping the pad around to show Patty the latest sketch of a girl standing on a windowsill, face obscured by a light from behind and hand extended in a beckoning gesture. "Last time the image was a little blurry but this time I could see-"

"_You _could see?" Patty asked.

"Well…" Hiyori took the pad back. "I could see everything firsthand, so I… I think it was me…I don't know…I haven't always been myself in dreams like these. Last time I thought it was me in a dream I was later addressed as the Honorable Knight of Seven"

Patty giggled. "Does it mean anything if it _was _you?"

"Maybe…maybe not." Hiyori sighed. "I've just had the worst writer's block lately and I'm digging for _anything_ to get me back on track again."

"Mmm...so this blurry afterimage is all you can remember? No distinguishing facial features, no hair color, nothing?"

"She…well…she was pretty." Hiyori mumbled.

Patty's eyebrow quirked. "Pretty?"

"Well…I'm not totally sure what her face looks like but…I just think she's pretty."

"You can't tell me what she looks like, but you think she's _pretty_?" Patty glanced back at the sketch. "Well I can see why; she's got the face blocking beam of light that every girl wants."

Hiyori yanked the book away, smacking it against Patty's forehead before taking it back. "Okay, okay…enough from the peanut gallery."

"If you didn't want my expert advice, then _why _did you come over today?" Patty huffed rolling back on her stomach and poignantly ignoring Hiyori.

Hiyori sighed, watching Patty's long legs kick in irregular rhythm. "You're the only one I could turn to! The Manga club is on vacation while Ko-Sempai is in the hospital and Winter Comiket is only a few months away. I'm stuck. In. A. Rut!"

"Oh noes! Ko-sempai has fallen! Help me Patty-Wan, you're my only h-Agh!" Hiyori smacked Patty's moving foot with the edge of her notebook. "Abuse!"

"Come on Patty!" Hiyori wheedled. "I haven't had any good ideas in a long time. You and I pretty much like the same stuff so I thought maybe you could-"

"Okay, okay…" Patty said, flipping over and sitting up, cross legged. "Is this why you couldn't make the summer festival?"

"Partly. It just took me so long to finish the last one in this series I'm working on that­­-"

"Wait…_last one_?!" Patty's eyes darkened. "Don't tell me …"

"Uh…well…" Hiyori looked away like schoolkid caught cheating. "The last one sold really well at last year's winter Comiket and there was a really strong response from my circle and there was a lot of pressure on me to-"

"Don't tell me you're actually making another _Shojo Samurai_?!?!" Patty said aghast.

"Well…technically it's _Super Shojo Samur-"_

"What is this, number five?! You swore you were done with that! I thought our pink haired princess finally confessed her love to her teal haired samurai who shockingly, _shockingly_, turned out to be a girl in disguise!!!"

"Well, that was before writer's block hit me like a ton of bricks." Hiyori said dryly. "So unless I can divine anything out of these crazy dreams, the saga continues."

"Sequelitis kills the best stories; remember that my pupil." Patty said sagely, sipping a cup of juice thoughtfully. "Now tell me more about this dream…"

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_Waltz_

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_DING-DONG! _

"Coming!" Yutaka rocked lightly on her heels as she waited for the faint footsteps inside to reach the door. The door opened and Yutaka felt a tinge of surprise as Minami's mother answered the door instead of her friend.

"Oh, hello Yutaka-chan!" Minami's mother said, stepping aside to allow Yutaka to pass her into the house.

"Good morning Iwasaki-san." Yutaka said, kicking her shoes off and laying them neatly by the door.

"So Minami tells me you two are going to the movies today." Iwasaki-san said, taking Yutaka's coat and hanging it on the rack. "She's still in the shower but you can wait for her down here if you like."

"Thank you Iwasaki-san." Yutaka said, giving a little bow and traipsing into the living room.

The Iwasaki living room was done up in a Western style much like the rest of the house. A few couches and a comfy looking armchair were seated around a low coffee table backlit by a large picture window currently showing a dreary autumn day. The centerpiece of the room was a large, white grand piano, a gift from Minami's grandparents for her sixteenth birthday. Currently a sheaf of crisp, clean sheet music lay invitingly open on the stand.

Yutaka glanced over her shoulder briefly. The tranquil ivory keys beckoned Yutaka silently and although Minami had never said anything about it, Yutaka had never so much as plunked a key.

Now, she was alone. Iwasaki-san was in the kitchen and Cherry's steady breath was the only sound in the room. Glancing around again and throwing one last look upstairs, Yutaka slowly made her way over to the piano bench.

Minami's height had always been a point of distinction between the two girls but never before had it been clearer than when Yutaka's legs dangled off a bench adjusted for Minami's height. She reflexively swung her legs that dangled a good six inches from the ground, feeling rather like a small child climbing on her father's armchair. Scooting the bench in as best she could (which involved a lot of wiggling and gently using the piano as an anchor) Yutaka straightened her skirt and looked with anticipation at eighty-eight perfectly polished piano keys.

Yutaka suddenly felt an unusual stirring something exciting and unnerving that felt akin to the first time she lay hands on Cherry's warm fur. It was probably just another silly thought but there was something about laying her fingers on Minami's cherished instrument that felt intensely private, as if each key somehow contained a glimpse into Minami's soul…

Yutaka shook her head lightly. _Probably shouldn't have glanced through Nee-chan's books before mailing them off; manga is so melodramatic. _Taking a deep breath, Yutaka reached out and-

"Oh, Yutaka…"

_ClingClANGCLOUNGCLONG!_

"EEP!"

Minami's unexpected arrival jolted Yutaka out of her daydream and instead of a single note she had intended to play, a cacophony of clashing sound shook the room and startled Cherry wide awake. In her haste to turn and face her friend, Yutaka knocked the sheaf of sheet music off the staff and on the floor

"O-oh, M-minami-chan, hi there!" Yutaka stammered, falling to the floor and grabbing the music before Minami could help her. "I-iwasjustwaitingforyoutocomedownandisawthekeyboardandiandiandiandi-"

"Huh?" Minami shook her head to try and clean any water lodged in her ears, rubbing her hair dry before walking over to the piano to stop Yutaka from rambling. "Take it easy." Minami's eyes then passed over the ruffled sheets and the suspiciously guilty way that Yutaka was shifting her eyes. "Oh…were you playing my piano?"

"Umm…yeah…but it was just for a second and I'm really really sorry…"

Minami let Yutaka ramble for a second while she collected her thoughts. _Sorry? _Why was Yutaka sorry? Did she somehow get the idea that her piano was off-limits?

"Did you…did you want to play it?" Minami asked, interrupting Yutaka's stammering.

"Oh…I really don't know how." Yutaka said. "I just wanted to see what you were playing right now." Yutaka said, picking up a stray sheet of music that fell to the floor.

_Sorry…_

"Well…" Minami looked down to see Cherry holding a music book between her teeth. "I was working on a piece by Hisaishi-san earlier today but…"

Yutaka looked up at Minami. "But what?"

Minami bit her lip, turning the thought over in her head a few times. "Well…"

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"L-like this?" Yutaka said hesitantly.

"Well…" Minami gently scooted Yutaka's hands further down the keyboard. "Play it in this position here, just like I showed you."

"O-okay…" Yutaka said, a little nervously. The way the piece (entitled _Itsu mo Nando demo _from a popular movie that Yutaka once saw when Konata was home sick with her) was arranged called for a repeating line of notes that mostly were in the center of the keyboard while the second player played notes at the higher and lower octaves. Yutaka, being considerably smaller and less experienced than Minami opted to play the line of keys that she could easily reach and leave Minami to embellish her melody. That being said, the best way for them to sit was with Minami sitting behind Yutaka on the bench so she could reach the notes she needed to. It worked out well enough; Minami being one head taller than Yutaka could easily see over her to read the music.

"Well, here I go…" Yutaka hesitantly started playing, stumbling over the first few measures until she got the timing right. Minmi came in, two bars later, playing the melody over the steady repeating line Yutaka played with a growing degree of confidence.

_One-two-three. One-two-three. _Minami counted to herself to keep time but other than that, she just let her mind wander, conscious of the music and her fingers gliding across the keyboard. Occasionally, her fingers darted across the middle of the keyboard, brushing across Yutaka's smaller hands but she was at the other end of the board before Yutaka noticed. Yutaka's brow was furrowed in concentration, determined not to slow Minami down.

They came up on the last line, Yutaka dropping out and letting Minami finish with three resounding chords that she let echo for a few moments after. Both girls were silent for a second, letting the silence wash over them.

Then, Yutaka tilted her head back, looking up at Minami. "Again?" She asked.

The movie would have to wait.

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_AN: Hiya-lucky! _

_Already on chapter 5?! MADNESS! I'm having a lot of fun putting this story together so thank you all again for your support. _

_To clarify, the song from the beginning of Scribble was by Aqua Times and was featured at the end of Bleach: Memories of Nobody. I started writing after I saw it with some friends on Adult Swim so that's how it made it into my story. The duet that Minami and Yutaka play is from Spirited Away and I've always thought it was a pretty piano piece. _

_I Still don't know how long this will be in the end. If I get stuck, I can always advance the plot faster but that'll depend on my oneshotting skills. This may be aslong as twenty chapters or as short as twelve but I would like it to adequately cover the last two years of school for these girls (and a little after but that's a surprise!) Thanks for reading and please review!_

_By-Nee!!! _

_DOTMW_


	8. Lucky Gaiden: A Day in the Life part 1

_Lucky Legacy Gaiden_

_A Day in the Life_

_The Ensemble _

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"Hmm…let's see…if I attach the skateboard to the jet engine…tie it to the time machine…point it in the direction of the robot zombies and…summon **Cthulhu**!" Patty said happily, clicking her touch screen with the tip of her stylus. "Hey wait…don't eat the skateboard! Put the T-Rex down!! **No! No! Bad Cthulhu! Bad**!" Patty frantically clicked away her screen as her friends and several passersby gave her odd looks out of the corner of their eyes.

"Ummm…Is Patty-chan going to be all right?" Yutaka whispered nervously, looking worriedly at Patty, who chewing on the end of her stylus thoughtfully.

Hiyori shook her head. "Her sister sent her a new game that just came out in America. She hasn't stopped playing since Saturday."

"Yeah…but…" Minami said.

"She gets this way about video games." Hiyori said dismissively, holding the door open for her friends. "Once we were playing this guitar game and she got so in to it she performed a stage dive right on to her table."

"How was I supposed to know the table wasn't impact resistant…" Patty mumbled darkly, snapping her game shut.

"Aww…did somebody's game make her cranky?" Hiyori said, lightly bumping Patty in the side.

Patty crossed her arms in a stubborn pout. "For a game that supposedly lets you, "_write anything, solve anything" _it's surprisingly stingy when it comes to letting you use beings of eldritch horror."

"Well maybe if you didn't use that Cthu-thingy all the time, he wouldn't feel the need to devour your creations."

"Do not insult the Old Ones, Hiyorin." Patty said with mock sternness, holding the door to the class room open. "They take it very badly when you make fun of them."

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"…if you take into account the diagram on page 1.18 of your handout _and _factor in the statistics going back almost a decade," Kuroi paused as she quickly jotted a few numbers down on the blackboard. "This _clearly _illustrates that Chiba Lotte Marines are now, and ever shall be the greatest organization in professional baseball." Kuroi finished with a satisfied sigh, truning around to a very bewildered group of students. "Any questions?"

Before the strangeness of the situation could set in, the bell rang. "Well, that's lunch." Kuroi said, casualluy slinging her jacket over her shoulder and grabbing her bag with her free hand. "Meet back here at one." With that, she left her students to stew in their own bewilderment.

"Well…I think I speak for all of us when I say…Huh?!" Hiyori said.

"How did we go from the late restoration period to talking about baseball?" Yutaka said, genuinely confused.

"Well…I suppose you could look at it from an allegorical point of view…" Minami said, looking at her notes to try and see where the two overlapped. "I'm not sure how, but…"

"What point of view?" Hiyori asked, turning her notes around. "It's totally ridiculous!"

"I agree…" Patty said, thoughtfully. "Chiba hasn't even _been _to a series since 2005!"

"Exactly! I-wait, what?" Hiyori suddenly stopped.

"Well, if you want to look at it objectively, the ones with the most series would be Seibu or Yoriumi. And that's not to say Chiba isn't good; now that Iguchi was released by the Padres they might have a good…what?" Patty looked uncomfortably at her friends who were looking at her like she had sprouted mushrooms from her ears.

"Nothing…" Hiyori coughed. "Just didn't take you for a baseball fan."

"I have other interests besides manga and anime!" Patty huffed.

"We know…we just didn't expect you to be such an expert on Japanese baseball." Minami said peaceably.

Patty opened her mouth like she was about to say something but instead opened her lunch and crammed a fried egg in her mouth, chewing intently.

"Well Nee-chan did say Kuroi-sensei had her…er…oddities…" Yutaka said, picking at her rice.

"Well your cousin would know, huh?" Hiyori said, lightly. "Speaking of which, how are they settling in?"

"Well, last I heard they were doing fine. Nee-chan is pretty busy with her new job; supposedly they're releasing the second season of that show petty soon."

"And put an end to chibi shorts on the internet!" Patty said, sharing a victorious high-five with Hiyroi.

"You're telling me; if I hear one more thing about smoked cheese, I'm gonna throw up." Hiyori said darkly.

"Smoked…" Yutaka turned to Minami

"Sorry…" Minami said, scratching the back of her head, watching Hiyori and Patty go off on the pro's and con's of someone named "Haruhi-chan"

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"…and thenthey made me their club president." Patty said, crossing her arms thoughtfully. "And the rest is history."

"Wow…did all that really happen Patty-chan?" Yutaka asked, starry eyed.

"I'm afraid so, Yu-chan." Patty sighed, looking out the window wistfully. "The strangest thing is that I never saw the girl on the moped again. It's like she just rolled on by like tumbleweed caught in a dust storm…"

"Well, at least you had the chance to know them…" Hiyori said, doodling lazily on her notebook.

"It is strange…" Minami said quietly. "How certain people can come into your life and make such a huge impact."

"I guess it's true…" Patty said. "I guess everyone you meet touches your life in their own small way. It's just…I wish I could have given her the stencils back."

"Yeah…" Hiyori led the girls in a collective sigh as they sat for a minute, just taking everything in.

The sound of the bell shook them from their collective daydream. "Oh…time to go." Minami said, shouldering her bag.

"Yeah…wow, that got kinda heavy." Hiyori said, stretching as she stood.

"Yeah, especially for us." Patty said. "I can't remember having a conversation like that in a _long _time."

"Well, it was good to hear about your friends in America." Yutaka said, heading out the door.

"Yeah…but I still feel a little funky digging deep like that…" Patty said, shuffling her shoulder uncomfortably. "I think I need a hot bath and a good hour and a half of my favorite slice of life show."

"I could never get into shows like that." Hiyori said, holding the door open while they all filed out. "I don't see the appeal in watching a show about a bunch of ordinary high school girls."

"I guess shows like that would be a bit more easygoing…" Minami said.

"That's part of the appeal." Patty said. "It's a nice show to just relax to."

"Yeah…it's just that if _I _was in an anime, I would want it to be more…I dunno…exciting. You know; giant robots, magical girls, hot-blooded heroes, evil syndicates…basic SOS stuff" Hiyori said.

"All that could get pretty dramatic, though." Yutaka said. "I'd like a nice slow show that focuses on simple things."

"A show about nothing!" Patty said. "Just ordinary conversation can be enthralling."

"So we'd just be walking along…talking about random stuff?" Hiyori said, turning the corner and walking down the stairs.

"Not random! For instance, we could talk about school!" Patty said.

"School?"

"Yeah, like…" Patty looked around nervously before whispering, "Like Kuroi-sensei's rumored _lover._"

Hiyori blushed furiously. "_Don't gossip!" _She hissed

"But it's not gossip, its true! I heard from Ai that Yoshino told her that Masaru heard from Mimi that Sora heard from her boyfriend Taichi that his sister heard from Yamato's younger brother that Megumi and Miki saw Kuroi with a man in the park!" Patty finished, panting slightly

"So?!" Hiyori said, straightening her blouse. "A woman's entitled to a love life without every student in the school blabbing about it!"

"But everyone is already blabbing abou-"

"That's not the point!" Hiyori insisted.

Minami shared a glance with Yutaka. "Uhh…"

"Actually…robots and heroes sound a little less dramatic than real life right now." Minami said, watching her friends bicker playfully.

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_Author NOOOOOOOOOOOTES!!!  
_

_Hiya-Luckies! _

_So in place of a normal, plot advancing chapter, I wanted to get back to the roots of the show with a little slice of lifey-ness…so yeah…_

_This will be one of five day in the life type pieces that give the spotlight to a few of the characters (Next is Minami!). I feel like this is a good way to explore their personalities by dropping inside their heads for a while. _

_I wasn't sure if I made this clear, but when someone (usually Patty) __**talks in bold print, they're speaking English. Once the bold **__goes away, they're back to Japanese again. _

_I have to explore Kuroi's relationship more. I was browsing through some fanart for inspiration and I found a few screenshots cobbled together that made me want to write Kuroi's romance!_

_A question: how is the romance coming? Should there be more overtly romantic moments? I want to keep things moving but I don't want to fix what ain't broken so your feedback would be lovely. _

_So Patty's game was Scribblenauts, and the kids in Patty's rumor chain were all characters in my favorite show as a kid so I'll let y'all figure that one out. Also, I'm planning an update on the older girls so let me know which ones you want by going to my page and voting in my poll!! Vote or Die! _

_Bye-nee!!!_

_DOTMW_


	9. Chapter Six: Sick Day

_Lucky Legacy_

_Chapter Six _

_Sick Day_

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There were three things in the world Patricia Kimberly Martin hated with all the fire and fury of a thousand burning suns. The first two involved badly handled anime dubs and a certain series of badly written vampire books. They were easy enough to avoid provided she didn't wander into the wrong chat room. Unfortunately, her least favorite thing was-

"Ah…AAAAHHHCHOOOOO!!!"

As I was saying, her least favorite thing was harder to avoid since-

"Ah…ACHOO!!"

_Her least favorite thing was-_

"Ah…"

Getting sick.

"CHOO!"

Patty pulled her thick bathrobe around her shoulders while she fumbled around for another tissue. Her expression darkened when her hand flattened the empty box of tissues and she tossed it behind the couch in disgust.

"Sniff…sthupid tithues…" She squeaked out through a thick tongue and clogged nose. Patty contemplated getting up and fetching another box from the cupboard but her stuffy head made it hard to care about anything as mundane as tissues. If her thermometer was to be believed (Patty had her doubts about his true loyalties) her fever had slipped a few degrees from when she took it the night before but the heat still made her a bit dizzy and out of touch. In fact it took a few whistle blasts from the kettle to get her attention and let her know her tea was hot.

"Alright, alright…" Patty mumbled to her irate appliance, reluctantly prying herself away from the wonderfully soft sofa. "Hold your horses…" Patty shuffled listlessly across the carpet and to the kitchen, knocking the kettle off the heat and onto the counter. The kettle whistled feebly for a few more seconds before dying out (to the relief of Patty's throbbing head).

As mentioned before, Patty absolutely _loathed _being sick. She hated runny noses that needed blowing every few minutes. She hated high fevers and the hot, sticky sweat that would later leave her chilly. She hated the cocktail of pain killers and decongestants that made her drowsy and loopier that usual. Most of all, Patty hated being grounded; totally chained to her house instead of out with her friends.

But as much as it sucked, Patty was stuck until her fever went down. Truth be told, she would rather be sick at home than at school because at home…

Patty hastily set her tea to brew and then made her way over to what Hiyori reverently referred to as the "Wall of One Thousand Joys." From floor to ceiling, Patty's collection of anime and manga in three different languages Patty allowed herself a small smile when she saw that it was barely half past nine. If she was going to be in bed all day…

Patty closed her eyes, stuck out her hand and randomly grabbed a DVD. "Ahh…Tamers…" Patty popped the case open, grabbing her tea from the counter. "Well, this day suddenly got more interesting."

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"Yu-chan! Over here!"

Yutaka had barely taken two steps inside the train before Hiyori called out to her, waving a little to get her attention. Yutaka nodded in her direction but suddenly frowned at the sight of Hiyori sitting alone in the back of the train. Yutaka hesitated, checking the schedule on the side of the door to be absolutely sure that they had passed her stop before heading back to sit by Hiyori.

"Hey, Hiyori-chan…" Yutaka greeted sliding into a seat usually occupied by Patty. "Um…is Patty-chan coming to school today?"

Hiyori shook her head. "I'm not sure. I didn't see her at the train station today and she hasn't been answering my calls." Hiyori frowned at her cell phone before flipping it shut with an angry _snap. _

"Well…maybe she had a doctor's appointment today or something." Yutaka offered helpfully

"Maybe…but she didn't mention anything about it yesterday when we were doing our homework…"

"Ah…well…you know how Patty-chan can get." Yutaka laughed nervously.

"Oh…right…"

_Two weeks earlier _

"_**Hello?**__" _

"_Oh, hey Patty." Hiyori said, sipping on her soda. "I was about to head over to your place to see if you wanted to do something today." _

"_Ooh…yeah…uh, actually I'm kinda busy today…" Patty said over something that sounded like an oboe tuning up. _

"_Oh, that's okay." Hiyori said. "You have some errands to run or something?" _

"_Heh…If by errands, you mean the second act of The Man of La Mancha then yes. I have lots of errands to run." _

"_The Man of a La Wha? I didn't know there was a play like that showing around here." _

"_Oh, it's not. The closest performance was in Sydney so-" _

"_ACK!!" Hiyori nearly swallowed her straw in surprise. "Wait…ack…Sydney, __**Australia?!**__" _

"_Yep. That's the closest Sydney I know of." Patty said nonchalantly. _

"_What are you doing in Sydney?!" _

"_Uh…hello? The Man of La Mancha? Didn't I just explain that? Dad had a few days away from the office so he flew me down to catch a late performance." _

"_I know that! It's just-" _

"_Oh, intermission's over! I'll call you tonight!" _

"_But-"_

_Click. _

_Present Day_

"Yeah…knowing Patty-chan, she could be in Brazil for all we know." Yutaka giggled.

"No…Carnival isn't until February next year…" Hiyori said seriously. "Hmm…she probably had an appointment to take care of or something…"

"I'm sure everything's fine." Yutaka said serenely. "We'll ask if Minami-chan's heard anything from Patty-chan."

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"Ah…ah…AH-CHOO!"

Miki Iwasaki handed her daughter another tissue before taking the thermometer out of her mouth. "Hmm…101.3." she said sympathetically looking back at a bedridden Minami. "Well, that settles it; you're not going to school today."

Minami shook her head, sitting up a little bit. "No…I'm fine mom. Really, I…I…I…" Minami's face scrunched up again and before she could sneeze, her mother muffled it with another tissue.

"You'll be fine, Minami." Miki said, dropping the used tissue in a bin by the door. "It's only Friday and if you rest up this weekend, you'll be fine by Monday."

"But…" Minami shifted under the covers uncomfortably.

"Oh don't fuss about it, Minami." Miki said, gently laying her daughter back down and tucking her in. "You need your rest if you want to get better." Miki leaned over Minami to draw her blinds shut. "Just go back to sleep and I'll bring up some soup for you later, kay?"

Minami sighed weakly and reluctantly settled back under the covers. "Okay…" Her mother shot her a comforting smile before softly closing the door behind her.

Though her mother was probably right in her needing sleep, Minami found that she unable to fall asleep. She was hot and clammy and despite the fact that most kids her age would have relished a three day weekend, Minami had always been happier at school.

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"Hey…isn't that Minami-chan's stop?" Hiyori looked up as the train pulled past the station.

Yutaka sat up, a small frown creasing her forehead. She leaned forward to get a look at the people crowding around the door then stood and craned her neck to get a better look. Hiyori watched her bounce a few times on the balls of her feet, straining to see over the crowd before coming to a rest a little softly.

"I…I don't think Minami-chan is here today…" Yutaka said, quietly sitting back down.

"Huh…well that's odd." Hiyori thoughtfully nibbled on the end of her pen. "It's funny enough for Patty to be out but to have Minami-chan absent too?"

"Yeah…Minami-chan's never missed school before." Yutaka said in a small voice, staring blankly at her bookbag.

"Oh…well, I'm sure it's fine." Hiyori said, gently patting Yutaka's shoulder. "I'm sure Minami-chan has a good reason to miss school."

"Really?" Yutaka said hopefully.

"Yeah! Even if it's a little bug or something, Minami will be fine." Hiyori said.

"Heh…I guess so." Yutaka said, visibly cheering up

"But Yu-chan…" Hiyori suddenly became serious. "While our friends are missing, school still marches on. We have to do our best to remember everything and take good notes so that we can catch them up when they come back on Monday!"

"Right!" Yutaka said, matching Hiyori's determined look.

"It's our duty as their classmates, nay, as their _friends_ to ensure that no girl gets left behind!" Coincidently, the train turned east and the sun glinted off the edge of Hiyori's glasses, making for a lovely dramatic effect while simultaneously blinding the unfortunate man seated across the aisle from them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well I guess I'll see you tonight…" Kuroi spoke into the phone with an impish grin. "Okay…okay…bye then!" Kuroi closed her phone and turned to Hiyori. "Now then, you needed somthing Tamura?"

"Oh…yes ma'am. I just wanted to ask if you had received a call from Minami or Patty today." Hiyori said.

"A call? Oh, they weren't here today, were they?" Kuroi said as if she just noticed it.

"Uh…no ma'am." Hiyori said sheepishly. _Please try and act like a responsible teacher! _

"They may have…to be honest I haven't checked my messages today!" Kuroi shrugged with a laugh. "I'll go to the teacher's lounge and I'll get back to you after lunch, kay?"

"Okay, thank you sensei." Hiyori said, making her way back to her desk.

"What did she say?" Yutaka asked, scooting over to Hiyori's desk.

"She hasn't checked her messages yet." Hiyori said dryly, taking her lunch out of her bag. "She said she'd get back to us after lunch…"

Yutaka nodded, glumly taking her lunch out of her bag. "Come to think of it, didn't Minami-chan and Patty-chan help the drama club move their costumes from storage the day before yesterday?"

"Huh…" Hiyori sipped thoughtfully on her drink. "I guess so…wait! Didn't rain the other day?!"

"I hear Miyako-san from 2-B and Hikari-chan from 2-D are sick today too." Yutaka said. "Aren't they members of the drama club?"

"Among other clubs…I guess they must have been out in the cold for too long." Hiyori said. "I wonder if-"

_SHHUNK! SMACK! THUD! _

It happened so fast, Yutaka almost missed it; in the span of the briefest moment, the door to the classroom swiftly and silently slid open. Before Yutaka could look to see who it was, a small black and white sketchbook shot out like bolt of lightning and pegged Hiyori in the side of the head. With a startled "ACK!" Hiyori teetered and fell out of her seat (all the while clutching her left hand against her chest like a mother clutching her child.) It took a few seconds to realize Hiyori had fallen out of her chair and before she could do anything to help, another girl had vaulted several unoccupied desks and landed in Hiyori's chair, casually leaning back as she addressed the stricken girl on the ground.

"Heloooo, Hiyorin!" Yasaka Ko said, leaning over to get a better look at her thoroughly distressed junior. "Almost caught it that time…alllmost." Ko shrugged her shoulders, turning her attention to Yutaka who was staring at this strange girl like green and covered in jellyfish.

"Oh, you're Hiyori's friend…ah…Yukata, right?" Ko said, snapping her fingers. "No, no, no…Yu…Yubaba?"

"Umm…actually it's-"

"Ah, I'll call you Yu. That way, I'm partially right, no matter what." Ko looked back down at Hiyori. "How long you gonna stay on the floor there, Tamura?"

"S-sorry sempai." Hiyori mumbled, hoisting herself off the floor.

"Right…aaanyway, I took a look at your latest sketches and I definitely see promise!"

"Oh! So you like it?"

"Definitely." Ko said. "I think you're really on to something there."

Hiyori sighed, leaning against the wall. "I hope so. I'm so excited to finally have an original idea for a story. Drawing doujin is fun, but I really want to create something that's _mine _you know?"

"Definitely." Ko nodded sagely. "Especially since _Super Shojo Samurai _is coming to a-" Ko looked back at Yutaka, cocking her head to the side a grin slowly spreading on her face. "Ohhhh…"

Yutaka suddenly felt embarrassed under Ko's less than innocent gaze. "Umm…yes, sempai?"

Ko turned back to Hiyori, never once losing her grin. "Princess Yukiko?"

Hiyori suddenly went pale. "Uh…well…i-it's n-n-not a total translation…b-but-" Before Hiyori could finish, Ko had reached across the table and took Yutaka's hands.

"Your Majesty…" Ko said, bowing deeply and brushing her lips across Yutaka's knuckles. "It is an honor to finally meet you."

"Uh…Hiyori-chan?" Yutaka looked to Hiyori for help but she was too busy dying of embarrassment to be of any assistance.

"I am truly blessed to be in the presence of the real life Yukiko." Ko went on a tad dramatically. "The inspiration of _Super Shojo Samurai 3-5 _after brave Makoto was enlisted by the daimyo as her bodyguard. Your story of forbidden love has touched my hear-HEY!"

Hiyori, who had gotten over her utter humiliation in time to salvage what was left of her dignity swiftly clamped a hand over Ko's mouth, pulling her back a few meters in order to whisper frantically in her ear. This left Yutaka feeling embarrassed and thoroughly confused while the members of the manga club argued in hushed tones.

Yutaka turned glumly back to her lunch. At least if Minami-chan were there, they could have shared their usual confused glance and awkward laugh at their friends' behavior. Being locked out of the loop was easier if you weren't the only one.

"Well, I guess I'm off then." Ko came back to the table, brushing her sleeves off. "I'll let you two finish your lunch. Remember, the meeting is cancelled today Hiyorin. Kensuke and Ichiro are out sick and they were going to lead practicum…" Ko sighed.

"Let me guess; drama club?" Hiyori asked.

"Well yeah…how did you…"

"Minami-chan and Patty-chan were helping them move props on Wednesday." Yutaka said, happy to be back in the conversation.

"But on Wednesday it was rain…ing…" Ko's face went blank before contorting with rage. "Those…bastards were moving props… in the… rain…for another club…and now they're skipping…_my_…club meeting because _they…got…SICK?!?" _Ko punched her hand with a savage grin on her face. "Just…WHO THE HELL DO THEY THINK I AM!!!!" Without another word, Ko dashed out of the room, slamming the door as she left.

"Well…she was…nice" Yutaka said uneasily.

"Yeah, that's Ko-sempai for you…" Hiyori sighed.

"It's funny…what did she mean by forbidden love?"

"That's a great idea, Yu-chan; we _should _go visit our friends tomorrow." Hiyori said as if she hadn't heard Yutaka's question.

"Uh…okay…" Yutaka said uneasily. "We'll do that…"but what did Ko-sempai mean when she said-"

"So considerate; always thinking of your friends." Hiyori rambled on, packing the remains of her lunch back in her bag.

"Well thanks but that still doesn't answer my-"

"Oh, hey Kuroi-sensei!" Hiyori said a little louder than strictly necessary. "Let's go talk…about stuff…at your desk…over there…"

"Oh…well…okay…" Yutaka said, thoroughly confused.

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_LUCKY CHANNEL!!!_

_Patty: __**HIYA-Luckies!  
**_

_Hiyori: I don't get it, what are we doing here?_

_Patty: Well, sometimes it's common to have a short blurb at the end of the chapter with the characters talking about the next show_

_Hiyori: Yeah…but I don't see how well that translates in word form…_

_Patty: What do you mean? _

_Hiyori: I mean Yutaka and Minami are sitting right here next to us and you wouldn't know unless they said something_

_Yutaka: Hi!_

_Minami: Hello everyone_

_Hiyori: See?_

_Patty: Oh don't question it; just read the cue cards_

_Hiyori: Fine…okay due to outstanding technical difficulties-_

_Patty: The author's laptop broke! In half!  
_

_Hiyori: The updates have been slow-_

_Patty: More like stopped dead._

_Hiyori: Right. But thanks to a kick ass extended warranty, the author has managed to get back on track. _

_Patty: The show goes on! Thanks for hanging in there! _

_Minami: Well…on to other things. This chapter introduced Yasaka Ko, Hiyori's senior and head of the manga club_

_Yutaka: Fans of the anime probably didn't recognize her since she was only in the manga and games_

_Ko: It was totally political! I was too real for their commercial…anime…junk! I could've been in the show if I wanted to!_

_Hiyori: Oh dear, there she goes_

_Yutaka: Uhh…well now I'll announce the results of the Lucky Legacy Gaiden poll_

_Minami: A few weeks back, we asked you to vote for which of the older girls you wanted to see a chapter of first_

_Yutaka: And the poll closes…now! And the results are in! A whopping 75% in favor of Konata onee-chan and Kagami-san!_

_Konata: Flawless victory!_

_Yutaka: Next is Kusakabe and Misrashi-san with 25% of the votes_

_Misao: I guess we're just background characters after all…_

_Ayano: Oh there there Misa-chan_

_Yutaka: And last…well…this is kind of embarrassing _

_Miyuki: WHAAAAAAT?! What the hell do you mean Tsukasa and I didn't get any votes?!?!_

_Hiyori: Uh…Miyuki-san, we're still…_

_Miyuki: I GIVE MY BEST YEARS TO THIS CRUMMY PRODUCTION AND I DON'T EVEN GET A PERFUNCTORY GAIDEN CHAPTER?!?! DID I JUST GET PUT ON A BUS TO FRANCE AND FORGOTTEN ABOUT?!?! _

_Patty: Miyuki-san! The cameras! We're still-_

_Miyuki: Even the bleeding scenery _characters get chapters and I-

_Minami: Miyuki-san! We're still rolling!_

_Miyuki:…oh…_

_Kagami: I can smell the tabloid nightmare already_

_Yutaka: Like I was saying, you'll all get your gaiden chapters…it's just nee-san and Kagami get theirs first_

_Miyuki: Oh…oh well thank you all for including us…that was very kind of you.  
_

_Tsukasa: Yuki-chan, we still didn't get any votes…_

_Miyuki: Trying to leash my rage, Tsukasa…trying to leash my rage…_

_Patty: Well on that exceedingly awkward note we'll just wrap this up by saying thanks for sticking with us! See you next week!_

_BYE-NEE!!!_

…

…

"_They'd better leave a damn review…"_

"_Miyuki-san!"_


	10. Kyoto Chronicles: Tease

_Lucky Legacy Gaiden _

_Kyoto Chronicles _

_Tease_

_  
_

"I know…I know…well tell Makoto to run the early boards through me first! Yes…Yes…I _know _Endless Eight was my idea! Well There's been some positive reaction!!! Well, I think you read too many fan blogs!" Kagami shut her book, quietly sighing as Konata's irritated voice bounced through the air and into her bedroom where she was studying.

"Well excuuuuuuse me for trying to do something different for a change!" Konata barked back in such a tone that made Kagami accidentally break her pencil in surprise. Two months into the show's production and Konata was at her wits' end with half of her writers. Between going back and forth between the author himself and attempting to synthesize the multiple prospective story ideas into a cohesive script, Konata was about ready to throttle somebody.

"I'm not attacking you!" Konata sighed in exasperation. "This is just…_what?! _Are you out of your mind?! Listen you…..you…"

Getting a feeling as to where this conversation was headed, Kagami decided to put an end to it. In one move, she snapped her book shut, threw her pencil down and crossed the hallway into the living room in three long steps.

"Is that what this is about?!" Konata was pacing irritably up and down the living room floor, tapping a pencil against her leg in frustration. All around her were drafts of scripts, hastily drawn storyboards and unfinished cups of coffee. "I thought I already told you that there's nothing going on between me and Shin-HEY!!"

Kagami quickly grabbed the phone from Konata's hand. "Hey Akio-san? Yeah, Konata needs to do her share of the dishes so I'll have her call you back."

"HEY!!! Give it back Kagamin!" Konata grasped for the phone as Kagami turned away, twisting out of the shorter girl's reach. "I seriously need to-"

"I understand you're busy but it's past two in the morning. You can carry on your discussion at work tomorrow."

Konata flailed wildly as she tried to get a hold of the phone. "I need to let her know about the changes in draft five before she gets a chance to-"

"I respect that, Akio-san but at the same time you should respect…_WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!" _

"Uh-oh." Konata fell back as the cutest little vein started popping out of Kagami's forehead.

"Are you seriously telling me you've been digging your heels in because you thought Konata was flirting with your _boyfriend?!? WHAT ARE YOU, STUPID?!" _

"Hey, Kagami, it's really nothing." Konata said placidly. "Akio's had some problems with Shinji in the past so she's kinda suspicious of-" Kagami waved her off.

"So you've been keeping Konata up for the last three nights in a row because of a stupid _misunderstanding?! _Really? Okay…okay…yeah, I'm going to hang up on you now."

"Kagami!" Konata pleaded, struggling for the phone. "Don't-"

"Bye-nee!" Kagami said dryly, closing the phone's lid and tossing it on the couch.

"NO!" Konata leapt on the couch, flipping the phone open. "Hello? Hello? Aww…" Konata looked dejectedly at the empty screen before rounding Kagami's retreating rear as she disappeared into the kitchen. "Kaaaagaaaamiiii!" Konata huffed, following her roommate into the kitchen.

Kagami barely shot a glance over her shoulder, filling the electric kettle with milk. "Yes?" She said mildly setting the kettle to boil.

"I…I was in the middle of something!" Konata insisted.

"Oh, I heard." Kagami said, pulling a few mugs down from the cupboard. "You've been in the middle something for the last couple hours now."

"Yeah but that last part was a totally important brainstorm session! We were just talking about the part of Disappearance where Kyon realizes that Yuki hijacked Haruhi's…reality…warper…stuff…it's complicated!"

"Uh-huh." Kagami said, emptying the contents of two hot chocolate packets into the mugs. "It sounded _really _complicated when you referred to Akio as a "shrill, nagging, narcissistic As-ka knock off."

"I mean _sure _Akio can be grating…and needlessly offensive…and generally hard to get along with but she's still part of the script staff!" By now Konata was rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet and pulling her ponytail in agitation.

"Uh-huh." Kagami said again, pouring the frothy milk into the mugs while Konata rambled on.

"I mean she's enough of a basket case as it is with her boyfriend hitting on anything with legs and now she's got to deal with everything the job has to-HEY!" Konata suddenly found Kagami pushing her back into the living room while balancing two mugs of cocoa.

"Walk." Kagami said, nudging Konata with her knees

"But-"

"Quit complaining and just walk." Kagami sighed, bumping Konata in the direction of the cluttered couch.

Konata sighed, complying with Kagami's gentle prods until she was more or less herded to the front of the couch.

"Sit." Kagami ordered, setting the chocolate down on the side table.

"Okay, Kagamin, I understand you're worried about-OOF!" Konata didn't get a chance to finish her thought before Kagami lightly pushed her in the stomach with the ball of her foot, causing her to fall back on the couch, scattering unfinished storyboards. "Hey!"

"Oaky then," Kagami said, sitting down and taking a sip from her mug of cocoa. "Let's just take five and chill out for a second."

"But-" Konata stopped as Kagami fixed her with a stern glare that plainly said, "Shut up and drink your damn chocolate."

So Konata complied with Kagami's evil eye, wordlessly sipping her chocolate while Kagami did the same on the other end of the couch. For a while, neither of them spoke as each thoughtfully sipped her drink, enjoying the sound of silence rarely heard in their apartment.

Finally, Kagami spoke. "So…" She prompted.

"I know…" Konata said.

"Haven't we been in this situation before?" Kagami said.

"…"

"Well?"

"Yes…" Konata said sheepishly into her cup.

"And?" Kagami pressed on. "What did we learn?"

"…" Konata mumbled out.

"Err…right." Kagami said, shaking her head. "The point is that you've been increasingly worked up over this job for months now-"

"I know, but…" Konata trailed off, staring in her cup. "I just…you know…oh, I don't know."

Kagami chuckled at Konata's surly expression. "Look, I know this job is "everything you've dreamed about for the past eighteen plus years of your life" but you gotta take it easy. Try and compromise now and then and stay out of this personal drama nonsense. High school's over, remember?"

"Yeah…I know." Konata said, polishing off the last of her drink. "Still

"And try not to stay up so late anymore." Kagami said, finishing her cup and heading for the kitchen. "It's late and you won't be doing the Brigade Chief any service if your half asleep, right?"

"Understood, Kagami-sama!" Konata standing and bowing deeply. "I am sorry for having offended you, mistress!"

"Take care you don't forget it, soldier." Kagami responded curtly. "If you do, I'll have to punish you for it."

Kagami smirked to herself as she heard Konata nearly choke on the last of her cocoa behind her. "Well, I should probably get to bed; you should probably get some sleep too."

"Yeah…I might take a shower first." Konata said, poking her head in the kitchen. "Still don't know what to say to Akio tomorrow."

"Just tell her your beastly, psychopathic roommate works you like a maid." Kagami said dryly. "Make something up."

"So do you want me to tell her I have a beastly psychopathic roommate or make something up? Cause what you just described is a total para-" Konata ducked as a dish sponge hurled over Kagami's shoulder. "Okay, okay, I'll lie then."

Kagami frowned to herself. "What are you, stupid?" Kagami said carelessly but judging by the sound of Konata banging her knee into the door, her well timed catch phrase use had the desired effect.

"Um…I'm…I'll just take a shower then…" Konata called out unsteadily.

"Great; I'll be in in ten minutes." Kagami said, listening for the-

_BANG! _

Kagami smiled to herself. After enduring years of teasing from Konata's end, it felt good to have a chance to dish it back. All she needed was the right tools

"Um…Kagami…" Konata stuck her head in the kitchen door, towel wrapped around her body. "Did you just…"

"I need to take a shower before I go to bed." Kagami said, turning around to see Konata fidgeting in the doorway. "Is ten minutes enough for you to finish?"

"Wha…oh yeah…" Konata turned around quickly but Kagami swore she saw a flush of red color her cheeks. "I'll just get washing then!"

"Wash away." Kagami chuckled, scrubbing her mug.

Living with Konata had given her insight into her friend's life that proved to be very enlightening. For one thing, she always tied her hair in a ponytail when she worked on her scripts. She kept odd hours, often staying up late and waking up early (or never sleeping; Kagami wasn't totally sure) but never seemed out of energy. She was a surprisingly good cook, though cooking for two must have had something to do with it.

Kagami's wolfish smile grew even wider as she mulled over the implications of one of the most interesting revelations living with Konata had taught her. A few weeks back, Konata had made a snarky comment about "looking sad and lonely" while she studied for her midterms and under the pressure of preparing for her tests, Kagami snapped in a rather interesting direction. Instead of batting away Konata's baited hook, she bit back and pulled. She totally reversed the situation, teasingly asking Konata if she wanted to keep her company and 'distract' her from studying. It had been a totally unconscious remark but the effect was stunning as Konata nearly dropped her laptop in shock.

All this led Kagami to an interesting conclusion; Konata wasn't used to being called on her teasing. She wasn't used to getting it dished back. Backtalk left her fumbling for a comeback and in the month since Kagami had been biting at Konata's responses, she had always managed to come out on top.

Of course it was just harmless play, right? Kagami scrubbed her mug a little harder than she should have. Kagami's responses were just an interesting switch-up of their long running banter. It was fun to see Konata get flustered for a change when she called her on her bluff to bite the end of a P-cky stick off. She liked the way that a wayward phrase from one of her anime or games caused a flash of surprise (In fact, she liked it so much as to pay special attention to the shows Konata had on in the background to specifically pick and choose phrases to sling around when Konata least expected it.) Sure, it was just harmless, friendly teasing. That was all.

"Well G'night Kagamin!" Konata called from the end of the hallway. "Don't stay up too late and hurt your cute little head now. I'm going to bed!"

Kagami froze as a flash of savage pleasure surged up inside her. "Get ready then; I'll join you in a minute dear!" Kagami nearly dropped her glass in horror. Konata was silent and for a moment, Kagami prayed she hadn't heard.

"Uh, I didn't quite catch that Kagami; what did you say?"

"Uh…" Kagami quickly darted into the living room, grabbing a random anime DVD from the shelf. "Doesn't Noriko Hidaka play the voice of N-ar?"

"Well…yeah…" Konata answered back. "Huh…well, g'night…" Konata turned back into her room, closed the door and for a while just stared at the doorknob in contemplation. _God, _she thought to herself, _Hiyori rubbed off on me…I could have sworn…_Shaking her head, Konata toweled herself off before climbing into bed.

"Night." Kagami called back, replacing the DVD before heading back into her room. Kagami shook her head briefly, trying to figure out where that last quip had come from. Sure, Konata had given her an opening she could have flown a plane through but the sheer…reflexive way she responded gave Kagami a turn.

True it was fun to see Konata react to having her jabs turned around and used against her. True, Kagami enjoyed the crafty sense of satisfaction that came with foiling Konata's snarky comments and suggestive remarks. True, Kagami liked biting on Konata's lines because part of her wanted to see how much she was teasing her and how much was true; she bit because part of her wanted to be reeled in. Kagami finally understood why Konata liked teasing her so much because it was the same reason she teased Konata back.

They teased for the blush.

They teased for the stammering.

They teased for the exquisite feeling of making the other squirm

They teased for the way the other looked when confronted with her own bluff.

They teased each other because there was something about their harmless teasing that brought them dangerously close to something they both wanted.

_AN: HIYA-LUCKIES!!!_

_As promised, here's the KonaKaga chapter. I wanted to try something new with Kagami's relationship with Konata. I had originally written another piece that had Konata more in charge of this little flirty thing but it felt too stale. Then I started watching Clannad and there was one scene when Kyou teased Kotomi that inspired this little tango we have today. Next chapter will get back to Patty and Minami sick in bed but I thought this was a nice change of pace. As always, reiews are appreciated, especially for the way I'm handling the relationships (As this is the closest I've come to romance so far). Next Gaiden Chapter will probably deal with Tsukasa and Miyuki and their correspondence while they're at school  
_

_Please Review!_

_BYE-NEE!!!. _


	11. Chapter Seven: Chicken Soup

_Lucky Legacy  
Chapter Seven  
Chicken Soup for the Otaku Soul _

_

* * *

  
_

_**Saturday**_

_Saturday morning brought no relief from the endless rainstorm that had continued throughout the night. The gutters overflowed and added to the torrent raining down on those unlucky enough to be caught outside. Fortunately for a lot of people, they were still cuddled up cozy under the covers while the rain washed harmlessly down their roofs. _

_Unfortunately, the Hiiragi household's resident chef in training was not one of those people still safe beneath the covers. Anymore, at least. True, Tsukasa had spent her Sunday morning like spent all weekend mornings (buried under two sheets, a blanket, three comforters and a fleece throw) until a stream of urgent text messages from Yutaka begged her to come over to help with "a catastrophe" as Yutaka put it. _

_Twenty minutes later, Tsukasa tore through the train doors and dashed down the street to the Izumi house as fast as she could, getting thoroughly soaked in the process. _

Oh no oh no oh no oh no! _Tsukasa mentally chanted as she bobbed and wove between shop entrances that protected from the rain. _I wonder what could've happened?! Yutaka-chan sounded really worried over….well, I couldn't actually hear her voice but she was typing in all caps! Kona-chan always said that meant someone was yelling over texts!

_Tsukasa rounded the corner onto Konata's street, holding the back of her jacket over her head as a makeshift umbrella. _But why would they call me?! Is it something to do with one-chan and Kona-chan in Kyoto? But then why wouldn't nee-chan call? Unless…oh no! I bet it's something they don't want to tell our parents about! I really don't want to have to keep secrets from mom and dad but…AH! _Tsukasa accidentally bumped a lamppost, spilling the water that had collected on the back of her raincoat on her hair. _Ohh….I'm really not having fun….WHA?

_Tsukasa fell back a little as she turned on to the Izumi's street and saw thick black smoke pouring out of Konata's kitchen window. _OH no! What's going on?! _Deciding to ask questions once everyone was pulled free of what was undoubtedly a twisted inferno, Tsukasa leapt into action. _

"_I'm coming Yutaka ch-aagh!" _

_Well, first Tsukasa slipped in a mud puddle. _Then _she leapt into action. _

_Tsukasa darted past the front door, running around the side. "Yutaka-chaaaaaan! Open the window!" _

_The kitchen door slid open, letting a fresh cloud of smoke out along with Yutaka's face, obscured by a face mask. "Tsksssmp?" _

"_Wh-what's happening?!" Tsukasa said, trying to see through the smoke. _

"_Frrgh!" Yutaka tried to say through her thick mask. _

"_Wh…put it out!" Tsukasa darted into the kitchen, trying to part the smoke. _

"_The pan's on fire!" Yutaka called, lowering her facemask. "I tried to put it out but water just made it angry!" _

"_Grease fire!" Tsukasa quickly grabbed a pan lid from the edge of the counter and blindly drove it through the thickest part of the smoke until it locked in with the edge of the pan. Almost immediately, the smoke thinned out to the point where Tsukasa could see scattered pots and pans caked with grease and half a chicken breast sitting on the counter next to some chopped carrots. Beside the extinguished pan, a pot of cloudy liquid sat boiling quietly. _

"_Whew…that was a close one…" Tsukasa turned around to see Yutaka inching around the corner of the doorframe. _

"_Is it dead?" Yutaka asked timidly. _

"_Yeah, it's gone." Tsukasa opened the window and tried to fan out some of the lingering smoke. "What happened here? Were you, uh…trying to cook something?" _

"_Well…I was going to go over to Minami-chan's today and I wanted to make her some soup to take her but…well…I had never made some from scratch before …" Yutaka looked down, blushing. _

"_Oh…whew! That's a relief…when you said there was an emergency, I thought it was…well, an emergency…n-not to say that this isn't an emergency!!" Tsukasa quickly added, noting Yutaka's blush deepening in hue. "I mean, the house nearly caught fire and that would have been bad and all but…heh,…I guess what I'm trying to ask is why didn't you call the fire department?" _

"_Oh…I-I didn't call you to help with the fire I…well…y-you see…"Yutaka stammered, trying to find a tactful way to ask Tsukasa for her help while Tsukasa removed the angry bubbling pot from the burner on to the counter. As she did, she accidentally brushed a sizable pile of what appeared to be packets of ramen seasoning. Tsukasa took a quick survey of the half prepared ingredients, the piles of soiled pans and the still smoldering chicken in the sink._

"_Um.,..Yu-chan? " Tsukasa turned to Yutaka. "Did you call me because you wanted help making the soup?" _

"_Uh…hehe…yeah." Yutaka admitted sheepishly. "I was going to try and do it myself but I really didn't have much of anything to go off of so…well...I wanted to at least get started before you got here but…" She glanced sadly at the charred chicken in the sink. "I…I just wanted to get it right…for Minami-chan…" _

Chop, chop, chop. Chop, chop, chop. Chop, chop, chop. Chop, chop, chop.

_Yutaka looked up to see Tsukasa making short work of the carrots and celery with one of the larger kitchen knives. "You had a good idea using the chicken ramen flavor for a broth but you'll need firmer noodles that won't get soggy." Tsukasa swept the vegetables off the cutting board and turned to the chicken breast remaining. "Do you have udon or something a little harder than ramen?" _

"_Uh…well ojisan likes Italian pasta so there could be some in the pantry." _

"_Good. Get whatever you can find and chop them up into bite-sized pieces." Tsukasa said, quickly washing her hands before going to work, cutting the chicken into tiny pieces. "Get some salt and pepper too." _

"_Okay, but won't that make the soup super salty?" Yutaka resurfaced with a package of egg noodles. _

"You want it to be salty." Tsukasa grabbed a free pan from the cupboard. "Yuki-chan once said something about an, um, "infusion of salt" being good for colds."

"Oh…" Yutaka said, obediently fetching the salt. "So that's why chicken soup is good when you're sick…"

"Yeah…but it's also sort of a comfort food, you know?" Tsukasa started frying the chicken, adding salt and pepper to the sizzling chunks of chicken. "I mean it's hot and salty and tastes good but…there's something special about chicken soup."

Yutaka added her noodles to the broth. "Special."

"Well… I don't know…Kagami would probably say this is silly but…I guess I've always felt like chicken soup has more to do with taking care of someone than actually doing any good for their cold. I mean "Infusion of salt" and all that may work but I've always felt better knowing that my mom and dad and sisters cared enough about me to take care of me when I'm sick. So…I guess the best part about chicken soup is like showing someone you care about them…that's what I think…oh no! I'm sorry; I guess I was babbling again, I didn't mean to…Yu-chan?"

Yutaka looked sullenly into the foamy soup. "Taking care of someone…"

Tsukasa frowned slightly at the younger girl's expression. "Hey Yu-chan, are you alright?"

"I just…" Yutaka bit her lip. "I was just thinking about all the times Minami-chan would visit me when I was sick…I just wanted…to be able to do something for her for a change. You know, to pay her back for all the times she took care of me…I wanted to take care of her."

Tsukasa frowned. "I don't think Minami wanted you to pay her back or anything…she does all those things for you because she's your friend."

"I know…but…it's not just Minami-chan." Yutaka continued to stare blankly at her murky reflection in the broth. "Ever since I was young, people have always been taking care of me and protecting me. I'm lucky I guess, that I have so many people who care about me but…sometimes I just wish I could do something for someone else…without having to turn to anyone to help."

"Yu-chan…" Tsukasa paused, choosing her words carefully. "I'm sure Minami-chan isn't going to care that I helped you with the soup. You shouldn't worry about that because all that matters is you care enough to take care of her when she's sick. The soup isn't what is going to make Minami-chan feel better." Tsukasa turned back to the chicken to let Yutaka wipe her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Alright, add everything in, we're almost done."

"O-okay." Yutaka sniffed, pouring the noodles in.

"Don't worry about it Yu-chan you mean more to Minami-chan than what you can do for her."

"Okay…thanks sempai." Yutaka said, drying her eyes.

"Oh please, no more of that sempai stuff." Tsukasa giggled. "It makes me feel old."

Yutaka smiled. "Right…thanks Tsukasa-chan."

**Sunday**

"…_I hate people…who lie to themselves…" _

"**Oh gawd…" **Patty blew her nose on the corner of the offending magazine (for lack of a tissue and totally _not_ expressing her distaste in the author's take on romance.) "**This is getting ridiculous." **Patty wiped the page off with a napkin, shaking it out to clean the pages off.

Having blown through several seasons of anime and multiple volumes of manga, Saturday morning found Patty wiped out on the couch after a sleepless night, burned out, runny nosed and fiddling around for things to do. She had already ventured out earlier in the day (bundled in three sweatshirts and a coat that all but pinned her arms to her sides) to get more chicken ramen and tea and her stack of recently pulled anime didn't look that appetizing (Thirteen hours of hot-blooded anime heroes made Patty queasy at the thought of another extended power-up sequence).

Of course, Patty could always be a _responsible _student and call someone for homework but the lack of sleep combined with the unpleasant side effects of the cough medicine put her in a hazy state of mind.

Besides, it was _Saturday _and there were certain things that just weren't _done _on Saturday mornings.

Breaking into another fit of dry hacking, Patty tossed her S-hon-n J-mp aside in favor of a tissue that that was easier on the nose. Patty could always tell when she had a serious problem when her usual distractions weren't enough to keep her occupied.

_What to do…clean my room?_ _Nah…maybe I'll make cupcakes…yeah…I think I still have some mix left over from Halloween…that'd be good…but then Hiyori and I ate the frosting last Saturday…man...can't have cupcakes without frosting…although if I can get the cake mixer working, I can look up a frosting recipe online…probably need a special kind of sugar…_

_DING-DONG!_

_Now who could that be? _Patty instinctively drew her Sn-ggie tighter around her shoulders. _Maybe it's a traveling salesman…nah; security usually screens those guys pretty well. _

_DING-DONG!_

_It can't be Yagami-san; I paid the rent last Monday. _Patty stood up, scooting along the wall towards the door. _Probably a wrong address…_Just in case, Patty grabbed her umbrella from the hall closet, gripping the length of the samurai handle as she crept towards the door.

_DING-DONG! DING-DONG! DING-DONG! _Patty flinched as a wiggle of the doorknob followed three quick rings of the bell. _Is someone trying to break in? No…of course not, they wouldn't have rung the doorbell first…unless they wanted to be sure I wasn't home before they broke the door down and ransacked my house! _

_DING-DONG! _

Patty swallowed nervously, reaching for the doorknob. She'd have to be quick; there was no room to hesitate. With one single motion she flung the door open and brought the edge of her umbrella down on her assailant with an almighty battle cry.

"AIEEEEEEEEEKYAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"Hey Patty-chAAAGH!"

Moving faster than she thought she could. Hiyori shifted her bag into her drawing hand (being furthest from the lethal umbrella) and blocked the samurai umbrella with her own dripping wet umbrella.

"What the hell?!" Hiyori cried. "Patty!"

"Huh?" Patty shook her head. "Oh Hiyori…" She blinked in surprise a few times. "Why are _you_ trying to rob me?"

"R-rob you?! Hiyori swept Patty's improvised weapon to the side with the hook of her own umbrella. "I came to bring you some stuff from school!"

"Oh…wow, I kinda wish you _were _robbing me." Patty said eyeing the bag in Hiyori's other hand glumly. "Because I'm in no mood to-ow!" Patty flinched as Hiyori rapped her umbrella against her head, spraying drops of water in the air.

"J-just let me in!" Hiyori said, suppressing a shiver. "It's fr-freezing out here!"

"What…oh, right!" Patty stepped aside to let Hiyori pass through. "Wow, it looks pretty bad out there…good thing you had an umbrella, huh?"

"To protect me from the rain or umbrella samurai?" Hiyori chuckled.

"Oh…yeah, sorry about that." Patty said. "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and all this cough medicine is kinda making me crazy…" Patty stared at Hiyori's bag for a few seconds before shaking her head slightly. "I'm sorry, I have to ask you something; is your bag _steaming _or do I need to lay off the decongestants?"

"Huh?" Hiyori looked down at her bag which indeed had a thin wisp of steam rising from the top. "Oh no that's…" Hiyori blushed a little. "Oh, that's from my mom." Before Patty could ask further, Hiyori set her bag down on the counter and produced a pair of thermoses with steam leaking out from under their caps. "Uh…the blue one is soup and the green one is green tea, funnily enough." Hiyori laughed sheepishly. "It's no big deal…I told her you were sick and she got all…motherly …and told me to bring this stuff over. I mean if you don't want to eat it-"

"**No**!" Patty said a little loudly before blushing and looking away. "I mean…no that's fine. Um…thank your mom for me, yeah?" Patty said quickly collecting the thermoses and bustling past Hiyori to get to the kitchen.

"Uh…yeah…sure." Hiyori looked after her apprehensively. "No problem…so I was thinking we could work on the math homework for a bit…"

"Ugh!" Patty groaned, sniffling a little bit. "The test isn't til Thursday!"

"I know but I haven't really grasped confidence intervals yet." Hiyori sighed, looking for a place to sit among the clutter of books and DVD's stacked around Patty's couch. "And…well after that we can help each other on the study guide for the English exam…"

Patty stuck her head around the doorframe. "Help each other?"

"Well…mostly me." Hiyori admitted. "I barely passed my last test and I really can't afford anything less than a B in this class."

"Fine, fine." Patty said, coming out of the kitchen carrying two mugs of hot tea. "I guess we can knock it out together."

"You mean you haven't started studying?" Hiyori asked before she could stop herself.

Patty gave Hiyori the driest look she could muster as she flipped open her math book."Hiyorin, you have permission to slap me full across the face if I _ever _score anything less than one-hundred percent on _any _English test, _ever._"

* * *

"Okay, translate this next sentence into English; _My cousin Emily met her husband Fred when my mother Sarah called her father George."_

"Okay." Hiyori said. "**My nephew, no **_**cousin, **_**Emily met her husband Fred when his mother Sarah called my mother George." **Hiyori finished proudly.

"Not bad," Patty said. "Just watch the pronouns there because you just accidently implied incest."

"Wonderful." Hiyori mumbled. "Man, my brain hurts."

"Let's take a break; we've been at this for almost an hour now." Patty rifling through her DVD collection. "C-de G-ass?"

"I don't know; I'm not too happy about this test yet."

Patty shrugged and pulled the next DVD down. "Watch it in English then."

"I'm not sure that would help, Patty-chan." Hiyori said.

"That's why it's called a _break._" Patty said, popping the DVD in. "When you study English, you have to study like American students do."

"Which means…?" Hiyori scooted over on the couch to make room for Patty.

"Study like mad in short intervals punctuated by extended periods of goofing off." Patty said. "Now sit back, relax and prepare to be introduced to the dulcet tones of Johnny Yong Bosch."

"Well, I guess if it's only a few episodes." Hiyori said.

"**That's the spirit**!" Patty crowed. "Just a half hour and then back to work, I promise."

_**Six Hours Later…**_

"**SUZ-KU!" **

"**LEL-UCH!!!!" **

_Bang!_

"Wow…what happened to only a few episodes?" Hiyori said sleepily. It had gotten dark since they had started watching and Hiyori was almost afraid to look at the clock.

"I don't know…" Patty murmured, fighting back a yawn. "Johnny Yong Bosch's voice causes has been known to cause distortions of time and space"

"Hehe…you want to _maaaaarry_ him." Hiyori said childishly.

"I want to marry his _voice_." Patty sighed. "I would marry anyone with that voice."

"Who wouldn't marry Lel-uch's voice?" Hiyori asked

"And Ich-go…and Koizumi…and V-sh…and…mmm…" Patty mumbled.

"Mmm…quite a repertoire…" Hiyori said. "Well…I guess it's too late to finish our homework."

"Mmm." Patty echoed, snuggling deep into the couch.

"Well…I'll just get going th-"

"Nnnnrrrrgnngh…." Hiyori looked over to see Patty fast asleep and snoring on the other end of the couch.

_Aww, she's fast asleep _Hiyori thought as Patty turned towards her sleep, biting her bottom lip unconsciously. _Wow…I guess she really needed her rest._

_Hiyori quietly packed everything in her bag, slowly zipping it up so as not to disturb Patty (who was now quietly mumbling in her sleep). She was about to get up and leave when Patty's tossing and turning caused her blanket to slip off, exposing her bare shoulder. _

Well…I should at least make sure she's covered up before I go. _Hiyori leaned over, gently slipping the edge of the Sn-ggie back around her shoulder. Patty smiled burying her face deeper in the couch. _Wow, I don't ever think I've seen her sit still for this long before…she looks so…peaceful…_Hiyori smiled at her sleeping friend before turning to get up-_

"_Mmmm….__**no…don't go.**__" Patty murmured. _

_Hiyori nearly jumped out of her skin. _Is she talking to me? No…she wouldn't have used English…

"_**Please…there's something I have to say…" **__Patty rambled on; unaware that Hiyori was looking at her in dull surprise. _

What should I do? If I move again she might wake up but If I stay here, she might-ACK! _While Hiyori was weighing her options, Patty decided to reach out and grab Hiyori around the waist, burying her face in Hiyori's stomach. _

"_**When I think about it…there were so many things I wanted to do…" **__Patty mumbled incoherently into Hiyori's shirt. __**"I wanted to become a school teacher…I wanted to become an astronaut…I wanted to become a baker…"**_

What is she talking about? _Hiyori gently tried to wriggle her way out of Patty's grasp but the more she struggled, the tighter Patty clung to her. _She's just blabbering in her sleep!

"_**I'm the kind of guy that's ill at ease…and knows only how to fight…" **__Patty went on, pressing herself tighter and tighter into a petrified Hiyori. "__**That's why it's been hard for me to say this…" **_

Oh man! _Hiyori squeaked silently as Patty shifted her weight so that her head rested in the crook of Hiyori's neck. _Okay…as long as she just goes to sleep, I'll be fine.

"_**Tell this to your boss…and listen carefully…**__" Hiyori bit back a gasp as Patty's lips accidently brushed the nape of her neck. _

"_**You…you saved me…your smile saved me from who I was…so I'm not afraid to die protecting you…" **_

OhGodOhGodOhGodOhGodOhGod…._Hiyori silently chanted as Patty's head wiggled up her neck until her lips were pressed right against Hiyori's ear. _

"_**Because…"**__Hiyori turned her head only to see Patty's face only a few inches from her own. __**"Because…" **_

Wh-what's happening? _Hiyori swallowed again, licking her dry lips. _What is she doing?

"_**Because…"**__Patty leaned, close enough for Hiyori to taste the mix of tea and honey on her breath. _

Should I wake her up? What if I don't and she…she…

"_**Because…yours…is…"**_

What?! Ok…let's see…**Yours…mine are…is…**Mine is WHAT?!

"_**Because yours…is…" **__Patty leaned in even closer, causing Hiyori to bite her own lips back for fear they would accidentally brush Patty's. _

"_**Because yours is…the…drill…"**_

**Mine is the…wha? **What was that last word**?**

"_**Yours is the drill…that will pierce…the…heavens…" **_

Uh…what? _Hiyori looked on in total confusion as Patty smiled to herself and flopped down on the couch cushion, lightly snoring as if she was satisfied with the point she had made. _

Wh-wh-wh-wh…_Even in her mind, Hiyori couldn't formulate a question that would even begin to make sense of what just happened. But Patty had settled down, pulling another blanket over the two of them and cuddling Hiyori like an oversized teddy bear. All Hiyori could do was relax in Patty's vice-grip snuggle and think of an excuse to give her mother as to why she wasn't coming home tonight. _

_

* * *

  
_

_AN: Whew! That took longer than expected but i needed to finish before I have to start finals. _

_So here be first glimmers of romance as the steamy chocolaty plot begins to percolate in the coffee pot of fanfic...whatever. I have a basic outline that I'm going to follow but more than that I have way ahead._

_Right...I'm going to bed. Leave a review please! i'M Interested in your feedback. What is working so far? What do you think there could be more of? How am I handling the characters? _

_REVIEW!!!!_

_BYE-NEE!  
_


	12. Chapter 8: Leftovers Still Have Value

_Lucky Legacy  
Chapter Eight  
Leftovers Still Have Value! _

* * *

_Tarou stretched his arms behind his head, brushing the eraser scraps off his paper as he took stock of his latest sketch. The fight scene he had been dreading since Monday had actually turned out easier than he expected and with any luck, he would be able to finish the dialogue before he had to back to school on Monday. _

"_That should be enough…" Tarou said to himself, setting his pen down. The editor didn't need the chapter until Tuesday but "Mr. Aizawa" never failed to make a deadline. It bothered Tarou that he couldn't take credit for his own work but money was money. Besides…this was one of __**her **__conditions. _

"_TAAAAAAAAAAROU!!!" Tarou winced as his bedroom door slammed open. Pushing his glasses farther up his nose, he turned to the doorway as Persephone bounced lightly in the room. _

_Persephone…ah, Persephone. The ditsy, blonde double-edged sword that had simultaneously been a source of inspiration and aggravation since her arrival in his bedroom some months ago when she claimed to be his personal "muse" assigned to him by the gods. Naturally, Tarou had been a little skeptical at first but if he wasn't convinced by the seemingly endless inspiration for his manga, it was hard to ignore-_

"_TAROU!" Tarou felt the air leave his lungs as Persephone leapt across the room in one step and threw her arms around him in a (almost literal) bone crushing hug. Supernatural abilities were hard to ignore. _

"_Per-Persephaaaaackk!" Tarou struggled to breathe as Persephone continued to snuggle him like an oversized teddy bear. _

"_Hmm…oh!" Persephone let Tarou go. "Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods! I'm sorry Tarou!" _

"_It-ack…It's fine Persephone…" Tarou wheezed, massaging his bruised stomach. _

"_Nooooo it's not!" Persephone huffed. "I keep forgetting how soft you humans are!!!" _

"_Well…you're new at this thing, right?" Tarou did his best to smile at the distraught deity sniffing by his side. _

"_Yeah…but I'll probably be the first muse to kill her artist." Persephone said morosely. _

_Tarou chuckled, collecting his drawings from the table."Hey, I'm sure it's not that b-ah!" Tarou fought to keep from dropping his newly inked pages as Persephone suddenly fell sideways into his lap. _

"_Mmm…glad that's okay then…"Persephone said, rolling over and burying her face in Tarou's stomach. _

"_Wh-what're you doing?" Tarou said, mouth suddenly dry. _

"_Mmm…sleepy." Persephone mumbled, wrapping her arms around Tarou's waist. _

"_Uh…y-you can sleep here if you w-want just let me get-ah!" Tarou tried to get up, only to have a half sleeping Persephone pull him down again. _

"_Don't go…" She mumbled sleepily. "Stay…" _

"_I-I should probably go before my mom get-" Tarou trailed off as he realized that Persephone was staring at him intently, sleepily smiling. _

_Oh god…or, gods apparently…something about Persephone's eyes just bewitched him. The combination of their otherworldly blue color and the intensity with which they looked had an unusual effect on mortals (or so Persephone had once said (like he needed her to tell __**him **__that). Despite the fact his mother and brother would be home any minute, he couldn't find the will to pull away from her. _

"_Say Tarou…" Persephone asked. "How long have we been working together?" _

"_Uh…g-going on a y-year or s-so by n-n-now." Tarou gulped, fidgeting with his glasses nervously. _

"_Hmm…I was just thinking…you haven't tried to kiss me." _

_Tarou felt his brain effectively stop working as he fumbled for an answer. The most intelligent response he could think of at the time amounted to something that sounded like "Ahhehmngherrwha?" _

"_Well it's just that most normal teenage boys would have tried to initiate some kind of romantic action by now…" Persephone paused thoughtfully. "Unless you're a perfect gentleman…or like boys." _

"_Gah!" Tarou felt himself turn red. "Per-Persephone." _

"_Or you're a unic…I haven't checked yet." Persephone said, looking down as she scooted up so that she was eye level with the paralyzed artist. Tarou thought he could hear an orchestra cuing up but he chalked it up to the effect Persephone was having on him. Her short blonde locks were brushing against his cheek and her flimsy tunic did little to hide her voluptuous curves. _

"_Do you want to kiss me?" Persephone asked, smirking slightly. _

"_I…I…"Tarou froze. The calm rational part of him that told him to get up was being drowned a chorus of "DO IT!" from the irrational parts of his mind. _

"_I…I…" Tarou stiffened as Persephone leaned in. _

"_Libera me…domine…" She whispered, full orchestral score playing behind her. "De morte…aeterna…" _

_Tarou licked his lips, closed his eyes as whispered the most romantic thing he could think of at the time. _

"_Do the impossible, see the invisible." _

_**ROW! ROW! FIGHT THE POWAH!**_

"Nngh…" Hiyori's eyes shot open as her phone buzzed across her nightstand, playing her rousing, inspiring ringtone as it went.

"Nngh?" Hiyori repeated, rubbing her eyes to check the time. 5:12 in the morning. Who was calling her this early?

Hiyori cut off the rapper mid phrase as she flipped open her phone. "Nngh." She spoke into the receiver.

"_I think Kuroi-sensei has a secret lover." _Patty's chipper voice came over the other line.

"Nngh? P-Patty?" Hiyori blinked hard to make sure she still wasn't dreaming. "Why are you calling me so early?"

"_Because…I think Kuroi-sensei has a secret love!" _Patty said exasperatedly. "_Duh! Mimi called me last night as said she saw Kuroi with a guy in… "_

"Wha…why are you calling me at five in the morning?" Hiyori mumbled, pinching her thigh to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Patty sighed exasperatedly. "_Be .Cause. Kuroi. . Has. A. Se. Cret. L.O.V.E.R! Keep up, Hiyorin!" _

"But…why are you calling me now?" Hiyori said, sure she wasn't dreaming. "You couldn't have waited another," Hiyori looked back at the clock. "_Two hours to tell me this?!" _

"_Huh…probably." _Patty admitted.

"Then that takes back to my original question, Patty-chan." Hiyori growled. "_Why. Are. You. Calling. Me. At. Five. In. The. Morning?!" _

"_Huh…I guess I was just bored…" _

_Click_

Hiyori glared at her phone. "I'm going to kill that girl." Before Patty's ill timed phone call, Hiyori was sure the characters from her manga were about to kiss. Shaking her head, Hiyori got up to write what she remembered about the scene down. She would kill Patty after she was finished recording her dream

_

* * *

_

"_**AND THEN HE TOOK HIS SHIRT OFF!!! OH…MY… GOD PATTY HE WAS SOOOOOO HOT**!!!!" _

"**Yeah, Stacy …that's great I-" **

"**OMIGOD Patty you should have been there!!!" **

"**Well that sounds great and all but-"**

"**I mean we waited for thirteen hours to get the tickets and it was all raining and cold and raining and stuff but IT WAS SOOOOO WORTH IT!"**

"**I-I hear ya Stacy but could you-" **

"**I mean your dad would've flown you in, right? You guys flew off to see that Evan-what's-it-called in eighth grade, right?" **

"**It's Evan-you know, never mind…" **

"**I should have been studying for my History final instead of reading the second book again but who cares? I JUST SAW THE GREATEST MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!**

"**Stace, uh, could you…maybe keep your voice down a little" **

"**I'm hopped up on Mountain Dew and teenage hormones: how do you expect me to KEEP IT DOWN?!" **

Patty's held her phone at arm's length, sheepishly smiling at the staring passengers and offering apologetic little bows while the other end of the line continued her tirade. Next to Patty, Hiyori crammed the edges of her sketches into her ears, wincing every other shriek as her makeshift earplugs failed.

"**Uh Stacy, I'm really happy for you and I'm gonna let you finish but-"**

"**BEYONCE HAD ONE THE BEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME!!! OF ALL TIME!!! Aw…instant classic!" **

"**Uh…what?" **

A loud sigh came over the other end of the phone. "**I forget you're not up with the times back home…listen, the movie's starting so-" **

"**Wait, you're not seriously watching it AGAIN are you?" **

"**Call you later, babe!" **

_Beep! _

Patty stared blankly at the phone while Hiyori gently tugged the paper from her ears. "I get that your friend's excited and everything but does she have to be so loud?" Hiyori whined, rubbing her aching eardrums.

"Well, that's Stacy…" Patty said softly. "She gets this way about certain…things…"

"So this was the movie of the book you despise so much?" Hiyori asked, smoothing her drawings out on her lap.

"Mmph." Patty said, still staring vacantly at her phone. "Man, what _happened _back home since I was gone?"

* * *

"I'm telling you, there's something up with our beloved homeroom teacher." Patty said, nibbling her sandwich thoughtfully, looking at a cheerfully chatting Kuroi.

Minami, Yutaka and Hiyori shared a glance before indulging Patty. "Okay, since you can't seem to stop talking about it_," _Hiyori sighed, closing her book. "_What _exactly are your theories surrounding Kuroi?"

"Patty-chan called Hiyori-chan early this morning." Yutaka whispered to Minami who looked lost for a moment. "Apparently Hiyori-chan was still sleeping."

"As most _sane _people are at five in the morning." Hiyori sighed. "But Patty-chan felt the need to share her troubling theories with someone."

Patty hmmphed, taking a sip out of her juice box. "Not my fault I couldn't contain it any longer…you were the only person who would get it…"

"So tell me why you didn't call Minami-chan or Yu-chan!"

Patty shrugged. "Well that would've been just plain rude…" Patty said, waving off Hiyori's indignant protest. "But back to my theory-"

"Sure, since we're on the subject," Hiyori mumbled, grumpily erasing a few lines.

"You think Kuroi-sensei has a new boyfriend?" Minami said, looking back at their teacher who was giggling like a schoolgirl, twirling the phone chord with her pinky finger. "Well…I guess she _has _been in a better mood than usual…"

"I haven't seen her this happy in a long time; nee-chan always said Kuroi was one of her grouchier professors." Yutaka said thoughtfully.

"She's got a _maaaan_!" Patty sang gleefully. "Look at her; you know it's true! She's got a boyfrieeend!"

"Or girlfriend." Hiyori said before she could stop herself. "Kuroi could be into girls."

_Bang! _

Everybody jumped slightly as Minami's leg banged against the edge of the desk, spilling her milk on the table.

"Gah!" Hiyori shrieked, swiftly gathering her pages off the rapidly flooding table.

"A-are you alright, Minami-chan?" Yutaka asked, wiping the milk up with her handkerchief.

Minami blushed scarlet, dabbing the sides of her skirt with her own napkin. "Um… s-sorry about that…"

"Good God, Hiyori!" Patty moaned, wringing the corners of her shirt. "How tight do you have those yuri goggles screwed on?!"

"What?!" Hiyori said, indignantly. "It's a possibility!"

"Well, yeah but…" Patty trailed off. There was an awkward silence as Patty poked at her meatball awkwardly. Then-

"What're "yuri goggles?" Yutaka asked.

* * *

"It seemed like a good idea at the time but looking back on it, I probably could have handled the situation a little better." Minami admitted with small sigh.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Minami-chan!" Patty said, earnestly. "It sounds like you really kept your cool in that situation."

"Well, even though I'll probably never see that person again, it feels good to know that-" Minami was interrupted as the class door slid open with a sharp _bang! _Announcing the arrival of Yusaka Ko. She gave the room a once over, settling on Hiyori's table with a feral grin. "Found you." She said.

"Oh, h-hey Ko-sempai." Hiyori said nervously as Ko made a beeline through the crowd of students, tailing a few members of the Manga Club as she went. "Hey guys, I was just going to find you to talk about the new-"

"Scuse me, Tamura." Ko said, sliding on the table until she was leaning down nose to nose with Patty.

Patty gulped, shooting a nervous look at Hiyori. "Uh…c-can I help you Ko-sem-"

"Shh." Ko hushed Patty with a gentle push on each cheek. "Let me just…" Ko leant back over the desk, startling Minami as she suddenly had a face full of sandy blonde hair. The two boys that had followed Ko stood on either side of their president, looking over her shoulders

For once in a very long while, Patty found herself at a loss for words. All she could do is stare as the three seniors nodded in agreement. "I see what you mean, Daisuke." The boy on Ko's left said. "I think she'll do nicely."

"D-do I know you two?" Patty said, looking back and forth between the two boys.

"I told ya, I have an eye for these kinds of things Kensuke-kun." Daisuke said, turning to Ko. "What's the word, chief?"

Ko bit her lip, cocked her head to the side as if considering something and then, with the same predatory grin she had when she arrived she said. "You…are perfect."

"Yes!" The two boys said, high fiveing each other behind their leader's back.

"Umm…excuse me…" Minami said meekly from behind Ko's back. "Could you please-"

"In a second, in a second." Ko said. "First, I'd like a word with your friend here…" Patty gulped as Ko's grin spread wider.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Hiyori gently pulled Patty's chair back, slipping between her and Ko. "Before anybody has words with anybody, _somebody _is going to tell me why they're eyeing Patty-chan like a piece of steak!"

Daisuke clutched his chest in a wounded gesture. "A piece of steak?! Really Hiyori-chan, we've been in the same club for almost two years now! I thought you knew me better than that!"

Hiyori rolled her eyes. "I know you well enough to keep my friends an arm's length away from you, Dai-sempai."

Kensuke shook his head. "To think that our beloved junior mistakes us for ragtag gang of perverts and neckbeards!"

"Have I seen you somewhere before?" Patty said, staring intently at Daisuke

"The Manga Club maintains the highest standards of personal hygiene! All male members must adequately care for their facial hair! There are no neckbeards in my club!!!" Ko said earnestly spreading her arms out so that Yutaka had to duck under her sweeping gestures.

"Perverts on the other hand…" Hiyori said.

"We welcome with open arms!" Ko said. "But our perversion is completely club-related today!"

"As opposed to all the extracurricular perversion you seem to love?" Hiyori said. "So I take it you have a legitimate reason to be gawking at my friend."

"Indeed!" Daisuke said, hopping up on the table in front of Yutaka who was quickly pulled away by Minami.

"What's going on, Minami-chan?" Yutaka whispered fearfully as Minami pulled her into her chair.

"I'm not sure," Minami said, scooting back as Kensuke joined his clubmates on the desk. "But I think Ko-sempai wants something with Patty…"

"Indeed!" Daisuke repeated, causing Minami and Yutaka to jump as he addressed them. "We wanted to-" Daisuke paused, regarding Minami and Yutaka with a questioning look before turning to Hiyori. "Are these the girls who-"

"L-like you were saying Dai-sempai!" Hiyori stuttered quickly. "Y-you wanted Patty-chan for…"

"Well, Hiyorin, you remember what happened _last _Winterket? How our circle was outsold for the first time in three years by our rival circles at South High?" Ko asked.

"South High…" Kensuke and Daisuke growled darkly, clenching their fists.

"Well, yeah…" Hiyori admitted. "But that was because you said they had a "spruced up ten-cent bimbo pedaling their glorified pornography"

"Precisely." Ko said. "Basically our circle had higher quality material but the vulgar unwashed masses of Winterket were lured by a moderately attractive hussy in an E-A plugsuit!" Ko spat angrily. "It was outrageous!"

"Disgraceful!" Daisuke added

"Shameful!" Kensuke said

"But profitable." Ko admitted, leaning back lazily until she was looking at a perplexed Yutaka. "Hello Princess…" she said dreamily before snapping back up to resume the conversation.

"P-Princess?" Minami asked, looking down at Yutaka.

"I don't know! They won't tell me!" Yutaka pouted, earning a small chuckle from her taller friend.

"So this year…" Ko began

"We were thinking…" Daisuke continued

"To keep up with the changing marketplace, we should-" Kensuke started before Hiyori emitted a strangled squawk as a look of dawning horror crossed her face.

"Y-you…." Hiyori pointed an accusing finger at Ko before turning back to an innocently perplexed Patty "H-her…"

"Yes, yes, work it out…" Ko said with a smile.

"Oh no!" Hiyori said blushing and waving her hands. "No, no, no, no, no! Uh-uh! Absolutely not! No way, no how!"

"Oh c'mon Hiyorin! Just look at her!" Ko turned Hiyori around and forcibly pushed her face into Patty's until their noses touched. Hiyori gulped as she was suddenly eyes to eye with Patty's baby blues. "You know we have better material…your original work alone is leagues above the two bit hentai doujin our rivals pedal but the ignorant Comiket goers are dazzled by cheap fanservice."

"So your answer is to use cheap fanservice in return?" Hiyori demanded as best she could while pressed against Patty's face

"Hey!" Patty said indignantly pulling away from Hiyori's face. "Who're you calling cheap?"

"Ooh, I…" In the confusion, Hiyori forgot that Patty was sitting right there.

"Besides we'll make sure any, ah, _incentives _we use will be tasteful." Daisuke said. "After all, Patty-chan cosplays at work every day."

"_That's_ where I know you from!" Patty crowed, pointing at Daisuke. "I knew I'd seen you at work before!"

"Figures." Ko and Hiyori mumbled darkly.

"So let me get this straight." Patty said, crossing her arms. "You want me to accompany you to Winterket to help draw buyers in with…_incentives_?" Patty quirked an eyebrow at Daisuke.

"That's the gist of it." Ko said. "That's our proposal, take it or leave it."

"What's in it for me?" Patty asked, now totally ignoring the others and focusing on Ko. "True, I'm used to cosplaying, but I'm also used to getting paid for it. So if I'm breaking out the A-suka outfit-"

"Sweet." Kensuke said.

"Or the maid costume-"

"Sweeter." Daisuke said.

"Or the cheer uniform I used last year for the culture festival-"

"Sweetest." Kensuke and Daisuke agreed.

"Then I expect something in return." Patty said. "After all, why should I hang around _your _booth when I can be hitting up the multitude of other booths? Comiket comes but twice a year and some of us happen to _like _glorified pornography."

"Patty!" Hiyori gulped, adjusting her glasses nervously.

"Oh don't tell me you're surprised; you've seen my doujin collection!"

"No, it's just…"

"So, chief, what can you offer me?" Patty said.

Ko stared back at Patty, biting her lip thoughtfully. "For an hour before Comiket starts and after the vendors set their booths up, there is a grace period where the artists and the booth workers browse each other's wares in shifts." Ko said. "As part of our booth crew, you would have unrestricted access to commodities usually unavailable to the general public due to limited resources." Ko smirked. "That is my offer. One hour free of pushing, shoving, yelling and screaming. One hour to buy _whatever you want._"

Patty did her best to keep a straight face but the glimmer in her eye told Hiyori that Patty was onboard. Still Patty closed her eyes and tilted her head as if she was deeply considering it. Finally, she said. "Deal."

Ko's feral grin returned. "Excellent." She said. "I'll trust your superior cosplay eye to pick an outfit that will best serve our goal."

"I think I have a few in mind." Patty said thoughtfully. "If all else fails, I have the maid costume I can fall back on but you can talk to Hiyori. She pretty much knows what I have."

"M-me?" Hiyori squeaked. "W-why do I have to be involved in this?"

"You'll be our organization's liaison with our lovely spokeswoman here." Ko said, hopping off the table. "Help her pick out something and then report back to us. Maybe use a princessy, medieval theme or something like that. I know a few of the others are doing Z-ro no Ts-kima doujin and you've got that Greek 'muse' thing going on. Just use your instincts."

"Don't worry about it." Patty said, waving Ko off. "I'll talk with Hiyorin and we'll finalize any costuming arrangements. Just make sure I get my pass and we won't have any problems."

"Deal." Ko said shaking Patty's hand.

"Excellent! I'm happy everything worked out, Patty-chan!" Kensuke said enthusiastically.

"So glad you saw things our way, Patty-chan!" Daisuke said, standing up and curtseying theatrically. "The Manga Club will owe you a great debt of gratitude for this magnanimous sacrif-umph!" Daisuke was cut off as Ko grabbed his tie and dragged him out of the room, trailing Kensuke behind.

Once they were gone, Hiyori turned to Patty with an indignant "Patty!"

"What?" Patty said, starting to pack her things up.

"What, you're okay with being used as a booth babe?" Hiyori said, frantically waving her arms.

"Well, yeah…" Patty said. "Else I would have said something, right?"

"But…but…" Hiyori stuttered. "Just like that?"

"Yeah, for free access to Comiket?" Patty took a sip from her iced tea. "Like I'd be dumb enough to pass up that opportunity."

"But…but…" Hiyori repeated, losing her argument.

"That reminds me, you have to help me pick my costume out. Something that goes with circle's theme…I'm pretty sure I have white summer dress I could take up a couple inches…maybe knee high sandals for a passable attempt at a zettai…maybe I should go strapless…" Patty got a faroff look in her eye while Hiyori continued to gape at her friend.

"Buh…buh…" Hiyori gulped like a fish out of water, looking around for support. "Back me up here Minami-ch…hey…" Hiyori looked around to see they were alone at the table. "Where'd they go?"

* * *

"Ooh! They always do that!" Yutaka huffed stomping down the hall in an attempt to look cross. Though as Minami trailed behind her, she thought she looked more adorable than enraged.

"Every time we have lunch they always go off on their little anime tangents and we're just left out of the loop!" Yutaka said, trying to throw the door open in disgust but only succeeding in pushing it open a couple of inches until Minami pushed it the rest of the way. "It's like having lunch with some kind of secret society or something!"

"Well…I don't think they do it to leave us out." Minami said, trying to keep a smile from tugging at her lips. "They just find it easier to talk about what they know."

"But, but, but!" Yutaka pouted, childishly. "Ooh! I'm tired of not getting their little games!" Frustrated, she kicked a pebble off the steps.

"Well…maybe we should do something about that…" Minami said.

"What do you mean?" Yutaka asked, curious.

"Well…" Minami scratched the back of her head. "They w-were talking about some kind of convention that they go to…"

"You think we should go with them?" Yutaka said. "But they'll be stuck in the booth all day!"

"So we'll go by…by ourselves…" Minami said, an idea suddenly coming to her. "If you really want to understand our friends better then maybe w-we should see what they're talking about…" Minami said, blushing as she suddenly felt self conscious. "I mean…it's just an idea so-"

"No, I think I like it!" Yutaka said with an excited glint in her eye. "Yeah! We'll totally infiltrate their secret organization!"

"Ah…I don't think it's quite like that…" Minami said sheepishly.

"Well whatever it is, we'll go in disguise and totally catch them off guard next time they're talking about their games and stuff!" Yutaka bounced excitedly. "We'll sneak in and totally learn up on everything they do!"

"Well…okay, I'll look into it. I think we still have some time until the convention so I'll see what we have to do. I think we're supposed to dress-"

"Shh!" Yutaka froze as she peeked her head around a corner. "I-I think Kuroi-sensei is t-talking to h-her b-b-b-b…"

Minami peeked around the corner blushed as she saw Kuroi leaning up against a car door and talking to a dark haired man fastened in a ponytail.

"I…I guess Patty-chan was right…" Yutaka said, chancing another look around the corner.

"Yeah…looks that way…" Minami said. "Well, we should go before-"

"Thanks for picking me up today…" Kuroi said.

"Oh, no problem. No problem at all!" The man said, scratching the back of his head. "It is my solemn honor and sacred duty to- er I mean, it's no problem!"

"Oh, Mei," Kuroi laughed. "I love how dramatic you get sometimes." She said, patting his cheek. "It's so cute."

"There you are!" Patty said, coming up behind Minami. "Where have you two-"

"SHH!" Yutaka shushed Patty as she pointed to the scene around the corner.

"I guess it'll be a normal and completely ordinary night, huh?" The man chuckled.

"Oh, my God!" Patty gasped quietly. "I was right! I was right!"

"Hey, what's going on?" Hiyori said, coming up behind Patty. "What's with all the-ah!"

"Yeah, I got tons of papers to grade but after that, I guess I could cook something up for the two of us…" Kuroi said with a wink.

"Ah! Excellent! That will be most magnific…Uh, yeah…th-that'll be fine!" The man chuckled nervously.

"Wait…where have I heard that voice before?" Patty whispered. "I think…I think I know him from somewhere…"

"Yeah…I think you're right…" Hiyori agreed. "But…but where from?"

"I hope you're okay with leftovers tonight…" Kuroi said. "I know they're pretty plain but I can try to make the best of-"

Suddenly the man took Kuroi's hands between his own. "Don't be ridiculous! Even though they may be leftovers, LEFTOVERS STILL HAVE VALUE!"

"Oh…" Patty and Hiyori said simultaneously as the same horrific realization dawned on both of them.

"What…what is it?" Minami said, concerned that her friends had turned an interesting shade of purple. "Who is he?"

"He's…well, that is to say…" Hiyori gulped.

"Yep…I'm afraid our teacher is dating

"Oh Meito…" Kuroi said, blushing. "You always seem to know what to say…

* * *

_AN: Yay crackship!! Just had to stick this in for the lulz…So the first part of the chapter was a scene from Hiyori's manga which will have bearing on the story as it progresses. Yes, everything in the manga means something in the story so PAY ATTENTION! _

_Next up is Comiket so that'll probably be inaccurate and confusing ^^; but I'll do my best to keep it real. Now is the turning point on which the rest of the plot will spin on like a big…plotty…wheel…thing…_

_The plot arrives in the next chapter!_

_ARE YOU READY GAIZ?!_

_PUT YA GUNS ON!!!_

_And please review!  
_


	13. Chapter Nine: The Deep Breath

_Lucky Legacy_

_  
Chapter Nine  
Comiket Part 1  
The Deep Breath Before the Plunge  
__(In Which Minami Takes a Level In Badass)  
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"Uh…um…what about this one?" Yutaka said, pointing at the picture on the screen. "She's got a pretty cute outfit."

"Um…I-I don't think I could pull that one off, Yutaka…" Minami mumbled, blushing and looking away.

"Why not?" Yutaka frowned at the picture. "That dress is pretty cute, isn't it?"

"Well y-yes, but I…" Minami stuttered, absently tugging at her lapels.

"And it's from the same series…I think…" Yutaka cocked her head to one side. "Yeah…so you could match mine!"

"Yes, b-b-but I don't really feel like I have…the, ah…ah…" Minami's face went several shades darker as she hugged herself self-consciously.

"C'mon Minami-chan!" Yutaka pleaded. "You still haven't picked out your costume and we only have a few days left!"

"I don't know…maybe I should just get a hoodie or something…" Minami said, scrolling down the page with a small sigh. "I'm not sure if I'll have time to pick out a costume."

"Ah, it'll be alright Minami-chan." Yutaka said dismissively, collecting their empty glasses. "I'm sure we'll work something out before the weekend…do you want a refill?" Yutaka asked, heading towards the kitchen

"Yes please…" Minami sighed, mouse lingering over a character's name and a brief description of the game she was in. She clicked on it, and then flushed red as scantily clad model winked at her coyly as she leaned on a long rifle.

_Definitely not…_Minami thought, hastily clicking back a screen. _Why do all these girls wear so little…something about "fanservice" or something like that…I think Patty mentioned that while talking her outfit... _

Minami scrolled down the page a little longer, stopping on a picture of a young woman wearing a black kimono and posing dramatically with a white sword.

_Not too bad. It looks like her outfit is pretty simple…hmm, she's a small character though. I could pull it off but…I would stand out, especially next to Yutaka…_

Minami fought the rising urge to groan in despair as she scrolled further and further down the page. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…I thought it would be like acting again, but I've never had to pick my own costume…_

Exasperated, Minami randomly typed her name into the search bar to see if she got a match off of any characters who at least shared her na-

_Oh…_

Minami's eyebrows quirked at the outfit on screen. Mainly black, splash of red, not revealing…what's more, the air of brash overconfidence surrounding the character would be a disguise in and of itself. Absolutely perfect. Perfect, except…

_Hmm…oh shoot…_Minami's eyes fell as she glanced over the character bio. _Shoot, I can't believe I didn't notice it before! Oh…it was perfect too…_

Minami paused as he finger hovered over the key that would take her back a page. Once again, Minami's eyes were drawn to the tilted cap, the red bandanna and the short coat rolled up to the elbows. Something about the outfit resonated with Minami and the thought of wearing it caused a pleasurable shiver to shoot up her spine. Maybe it was the outfit; maybe it was the character. Patty always said cosplay was like acting; maybe her drama roots were rousing after almost two years sleep…

A little known fact about Iwasaki Minami is that she spent her junior high years as part of the drama club. She had started off as the unofficial pianist and musical director for the school's production but Minami was surprised when she became a full member of the club when a case of tonsillitis struck and Minami (having attended every rehearsal) was asked to step in. Even more surprising was her unintentional reinterpretation of the role, masking a quiet venerability on a normally ostentatiously pompous romantic lead. Needless to say, with good actors (stress on _actors) _short in supply Minami was a welcome addition to the drama club. Minami benefited from the older girls' mentoring and the drama club gained an actress that was able to play roles that other girls found…challenging, to say the least.

Minami looked back at the costume laid out before her, fidgeting with the mouse as her mind turned over her options one more time.

_I…I don't know… _A shy, unsure part of her said. _Maybe I should just dress normally_

_On the other hand… _A braver voice awakened inside her. _This is a perfect disguise…your friends aren't looking for…well, someone like this…_

It seemed as though the shy voice in her head lost out because Minami quickly placed the order before she could talk herself to death. It would be fine…no, it would be better than fine. The model in her new costume smiled at her and Minami felt her own lips curving up into an almost perfect mirror of the arrogant smirk on screen. _What the hell_, she thought to herself as she finalized her order. _This could be fun…_

"Um…M-Minami-chan?"

Minami looked up to see Yutaka fidgeting nervously in the doorway. "Um…a-are you alright?"

Minami cocked her head. "Alright?"

"Well…um…you k-kinda have a…" Yutaka bit her lip. "Well, the look on your face is…"

Minami looked down at her computer screen to see a smirk still pulling one side of her mouth up. Without even realizing it, her eyes had narrowed and the look of total arrogance she gleaned from the brief interaction with the character had spread to her whole face.

"Oh…sorry Yutaka." Minami said smoothly, clicking away from the screen but allowing the character, _her _character, to linger in her mind a few seconds longer. "I just found the perfect costume and it's…well, _nice."_

Yutaka nodded. "O-h, that's good Minami-chan!" Yutaka sighed in relief, bringing the tray of drinks in. "Can I see it now?"

"Ah ah ah…" Minami said, navigating away from the page as Yutaka came to look at the costume. "You'll see it soon enough, Yutaka."

"Wh-what?" Yutaka pouted. "Oh, c'mon, Minami-chan! Let me see!"

"I'll show you on Saturday." Minami chided softly, scrolling down a wiki page that offered enough information about the character to go off of. Normally cosplayers didn't go this deep but…it wouldn't do to have Patty and Hiyori wise up to them being there. So maybe a few phrases, a mannerism or two taken to effect…

"Um…Mi-Minami-chan?" Yutaka laughed nervously. "Wh-what's with the smile?"

Minami felt her smirk widen. "Part of the costume, Yutaka. Part of the costume."

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"Part of the costume?"

Patty nodded, adjusting the wreath on her head until it rested lightly on her ears. "Yeah, it's like a symbol of…whatever in classical mythology." Patty frowned at the thought. "Are you telling me you completed three chapters of this story without doing your homework?"

Hiyori rolled her eyes. "Like the average Japanese manga fan is going to call me on an obscure Greek Mythology reference."

Patty reflection shot a disappointed glare at Hiyori. "Tch, tch, tch…it's the little things that matter, Hiyorin. What if your story takes off, gets picked up by some distributor and winds up in Greece where some mythology buff is going to be like "Wow, these are great drawings and lovable characters but I spot some historical inaccuracies! YOU FAIL HISTORY FOREVER!"

"Great…on the off chance that my little ten-yen piece makes it to Greece, you have full bragging rights." Hiyori said with a chuckle.

Patty frowned, spinning around in a huff. "That's not what I meant!"

Hiyori nearly dropped her pencil as the hem of her skirt swirled around. "Woah! Uh, P-p-p-Patty!"

"Hm?" Patty asked, twirling back around, prompting a similar reaction

"Uh…d-don't you think your skirt is a little too…well, what I mean to say is…your skirt is a little…"

"What?" Patty turned again which caused Hiyori so blush and look away. "Is there something wrong with the hem?"

"Um…well, it's just that it's…it's a little short." Hiyori coughed.

Patty looked back in the mirror. "Oh Hiyorin! I asked you if it was too short a half an hour ago and you said it was fine!"

"I-I know but…it's just when you turn around like you were doing it-it-it…lifts…" Hiyori finished, taking interest in the erasure scraps on her drawing while Patty turned around to check herself.

"Hmm…" Patty swished back and forth experimentally, noting how the hem rose. "Oh come on, it's not like you can see anything unless I go like _this_" Patty did a perfect pirouette and Hiyori looked up in time to catch a glimpse of something lacy and blue.

"Gah!" Hiyori squawked. "P-P-P-Patty!"

"Yes?" Patty asked.

"I-I told you it's too short!" Hiyori stuttered.

"Yeah…too short for ballet." Patty giggled at Hiyori's fidgety expression. "But I don't plan on doing _this_." Patty said, twirling for emphasis. "On Saturday." Patty adjusted the top to her dress with a satisfied smirk. "Besides, Ko-sempai said she liked it."

"Ko-sempai is a deviant and a pervert of the highest caliber." Hiyori said, reddening at the thought of her sempai's unsettling smirk. "She's worse than most of the boys I know."

"I wouldn't say that." Patty said. "Kensuke and Daisuke seemed pretty enthused when I mentioned these little beauties." Patty said, motioning to her knee-high sandals.

"Kensuke and Daisuke have been attached to Ko-sempai at the hip since they were in junior high." Hiyori said with a chuckle. "Hard to tell if _they _corrupted her or it was the other way around." Hiyori paused in her sketching, looking back at Patty's sandals. "By the way, where did you get those?"

Patty crossed her legs, looking down her sandals thoughtfully. "Liz gave them to me."

"Ah, your big sister, huh?" Hiyori said, reflexively looking at the picture on Patty's desk of an older blond girl, wrapping an arm around a younger Patty's neck. "And you figured it's better not to ask her huh?"

Patty shrugged. "Liz always had weird stuff lying around. I'm just happy she let me have them when she grew out of them. They go great with this little dress." Patty flopped back on her bed. "Speaking of which, why aren't you dressing up?"

Hiyori sheepishly erased a scribble mark. "Oh…well no one else is really dressing up that much…"

Patty rolled over onto her stomach, kicking her legs behind her. "I thought Daisuke was going as Daisuke and Ken-sempai was going as Ken…"

"Oh, well they're different…Ryou was doing a D-gimon doujinshi so…"

"Yeah, but last I checked that wasn't yaoi so they're not doing it for the club." Patty said thoughtfully. "I got the impression that they just wanted to goof off in costume."

"Well, I guess they should." Hiyori said. "It's their last year with our circle after all so they should have fun with it."

"So does that mean, _you're _going to dress up next year?" Patty asked

"I…well…" Hiyori mumbled

"C'mon…" Patty ribbed. "I'm sure there's something I can pick out for you…"

"I don't think I'd-"

"I'm sure I could think of something…" Patty said, regarding Hiyori with a thoughtful glance. "Hmmm…with that hair color you could pull off Tomoe Hotaru."

"Eh?" Hiyori said, blushing while imagining herself in a full blown fuku. "I-I-I-I-"

"Or maybe you could pull off Nina; you have the glasses for it."

"Well that's better but still I-"

"Of course you could always genderswap and play Uryuu-"

"T-that's just embarrassing!" Hiyori blurted, fixing her glasses in irritation. "I-I mean…that kinda stuff embarrasses me…I'm not really like you or Ko-sempai."

"Ah…we'll get you one way or another…" Patty said, taking cue that this conversation had some deeper undertone and Hiyori's embarrassment wasn't the whole story. But Patty was tactful enough to see that Hiyori was getting uncomfortable so she resolved to file the conversation away under "To Be Continued…" and moved on. "Next year, you'll be helming the booth yourself so make sure to learn from Ko-sempai's example!"

"Uhh…" Hiyori blushed.

"Minus the whole pervy attitude, that is…" Patty added quickly. "Although…there is something to be said for knowing what the fans like…" Patty said, swishing her skirt around and giggling when Hiyori buried her face in her sketchbook, blushing furiously.

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Yutaka held the dress up to the mirror, indulging in a self satisfied giggle as she spun around. The dress reached past her knees a few inches and was the color her hair was before…

Yutaka tweaked a strand of her now powder blue hair as she checked the back of the hair dye package. Soujiro-ojisan had said this brand would wash out easily so at least she wouldn't have to worry about going to school on Monday looking like she did. The blue was cute, lighter than onee-chan's but not really something Yutaka could see herself sporting every day.

Yutaka checked her bag again to see if she had everything she needed for Saturday. She had casually asked Konata (under the pretense of asking for a friend) what one should carry to Comiket. Yutaka checked her small purse to make sure that she had everything she needed. Aside from the cans of coffee (which Yutaka couldn't drink) she had packed everything Konata had recommended from bottles of water to a small fan to keep her cool. It seemed a little odd…but Yutaka figured her cousin know. She'd been to enough conventions after all.

Yutaka nervously ran her hands across her dress, fingering the frill. Part of her still didn't understand why she was dressing up and trekking all the way to Tokyo for a comic festival. It was just…weird.

Though, now that Yutaka thought about it, it was probably weirder having two friends and half her surviving family and knowing little to nothing about the things they like.

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX__XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX__XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX__XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX__XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX_

Minami stepped out of the shower, toweling her hair dry as soon as she was in the privacy of her own room. As soon as she was ready, she locked the door. Her mother had gone to bed some hours ago but she didn't want to chance it; as far as she knew, Minami was taking a trip to Kyoto to work on a report with Yutaka.

She certainly didn't want to explain to her mother why her normally green hair was now died in a light shade of grey.

Minami shook her hair out, pleased with faintly white color that the box advertised. It wasn't quite the graphite color she was aiming for but it would do.

With that thought, Minami reached under her bed and pulled out the outfit she had smuggled home that afternoon. She laid it out on the bed and looked it over for a second before slipping into her underwear. Over that went the jacket, buttoned up the front and just concealing Minami's chest. It fit snug enough so that it wouldn't open up unexpectedly (which was good, because she ordered it small just in case.)

Minami checked the mirror, worried that her barely noticeable bust would betray her (While at the same time, feeling rather pleased that she was having this problem). She wriggled in front of the mirror indecisively for a few moments before moving on to the distressed jeans. Minami was at least grateful that any lacking in the chest department was at least made up for with well defined legs (She would have been mortified if the smaller sizes turned out too big). Again the mirror was consulted and Minami again allowed herself a shy smile; the jeans made at least made her butt look good. All that was left was the red bandanna under the black cap and the boots which slid comfortably on her feet.

Minami eyed her finished creation with a satisfied smirk. All that was left was the slightest twitch of her lips on one side, allowing her teeth to show in a feral smirk. Hiyori and Patty would never recognize her; Minami hardly recognized herself for that matter. The reflection staring back at her was type of challenging confidence that Minami felt safest behind. It was brazen, cocky even and easy to play. The girl in the mirror was sure of herself in such a way that Minami felt some of her confidence come through. Borrowed confidence, false confidence, but confidence nonetheless.

"Why hello there…" Minami said to her reflection. "You look zetta sexy in that coat."

_AN: _

_Whew! Dang, that chapter was hard to write. _

_Well, I said the plot was going to arrive but apparently it got lost and had to take a detour. The next chapter should be longer and really get this parade started. _

_I'm starting what I hope to be a retool of Minami and Yutaka's characters. I plan on adding some hidden depths and character traits that I hope will make them more three-dimensional._

_Brownie points for guessing Minami and Yutaka's cosplay outfits! Hint: Minami's character shares part of her name and Yutaka's character is an gag involving another role by her voice actress (HintHint: It's a Gainax production!) . _

_Leave a review you zetta sons of digits or I'll factor you out of the equation! _


	14. Chapter Ten: The Implications of Cosplay

_Lucky Legacy  
Chapter Ten  
Comiket Part the Second  
The Unforeseen Implications of Cosplay. _

_

* * *

  
_

Two princesses, a knight and a Pik-chu waited for the train.

The first princess came with the Pok-mon but at the moment, wasn't talking to him. You see, the Pik-chu had made the offhand comment that the princess was prettier than his girlfriend. Understandably, the princess took offense and now refused to talk to her electric rat boyfriend. The knight was meeting a Viera and several different kinds of Shinigami along the train route but for now he stood alone off to the side, jumping up and down to jiggle his Pok-walker to gain levels faster.

The second princess fidgeted with the frills of her dress nervously, completely dumbfounded and waiting for her friend. Yutaka shifted from side to side nervously, trying to avoid the other conventionieers' gaze. Once or twice, the knight or the Pik-chu would glance in her direction and Yutaka would do her best to make herself unnoticeable until the medieval warrior/pocket monster resumed level hopping/arguing with his soon to be ex-girlfriend.

Yutaka wanted to just spend the night at Minami's house and head to the station from there but Minami-chan had been very secretive the last few days. Now and then Minami would be reading an obscure game manual but every time Yutaka tried to sneak a look, Minami would hastily hide it away while skirting the subject. Yutaka didn't know what Minami was so worried about; if she could dress up like a blue haired princess that piloted a drill robot then Minami shouldn't be _too_ embarrassed by _her_ costume.

Yutaka's train of thought was derailed by the arrival of a fifth passenger waiting for the train. Yutaka looked up at the new arrival coming up the stairs only to blush and look down nervously as it appeared to be a very beautiful young man. Yutaka guessed he was going to Comiket judging by his grey hair (probably dyed) and general getup (besides, not many people caught such an early train on a Saturday). He (or Yutaka supposed his character) had a unique style. His short hair was bound by a cap and bandana and his longcoat plunged a little, almost exposing his pale chest. What surprised Yutaka was how _pretty _the boy was. Not handsome but really _pretty _almost like a character from one of Patty's manga. His face was still mostly obscured by the rim of the hat but from what she could see…

Yutaka squeaked and ducked behind the ticket kiosk as the boy stepped up on the platform. She had never been good at talking to boys and to tell the truth, boys were a little intimidating to her. It wasn't as if she expected the boy to walk up to her and start a conversation out of the blue but still she avoided his searching gaze. Apparently he was already waiting for someone…

Yutaka felt a small buzzing in her pocket as her phone alerted her of a text. _Where are you waiting? _Minami's phone said

_She must be on her way, _Yutaka thought to herself. She texted back with the platform number, adding _"By the cute boy"_ for reference. She didn't know Minami's tastes in boys but anyone with eyes could classify the boy in the coat as "cute."

She shot a furtive glance at the boy as if he was watching her call him "cute." For his part, he was mildly checking his phone, shooting a glance at the hopping knight and the Pik-chu curiously.

Yutaka got a "_???" _reply for Minami a few seconds later. Yutaka scooted behind the ticket kiosk to see if Minami was on the street below the station. There was a small group coming up the stairway but none of the elves, dwarves or assorted Shinigami looked like Minami. Still, Yutaka added the ticket kiosk to the text and sent it off, hoping Minami could find her in the rapidly swelling crowd of train passengers. Konata said the train would swell up around the fourth or fifth stop but by the looks of the platform-

"Oh, there you are." Yutaka perked up as Minami's voice called out to her.

"Oh, good morning Minami-ch…" Yutaka trailed off as she finally understood what Minami was hiding from her all week. The ashen grey hair…the red bandanna…the distressed jeans…even though Minami had called her by name, she was having a hard time putting the image of her best friend together with the brash _handsome _young man before her.

"I was wondering where you were." Minami said, checking her phone. "You said something about a cute guy but…" Minami chuckled to herself, glancing at the hopping knight and the overgrown Pik-chu. "I wasn't sure which one you meant.

"Uh-huh…" Yutaka said, more than a little embarrassed that she had accidentally mistook her friend for a boy (a very _girly _boy but still…) "Uh…I think Pik-chu's are cute…"

"Right, right…" Minami said, taking notice of Yutaka's costume for the first time. Her short hair had been dyed powder blue with streaks and swirls of white. Costume jewelry bracelets and armbands rested on her arms and clinked together as she fidgeted nervously for some reason. A necklace held a red neckerchief and a matching belt sat snugly around her waist. This was all over a sleeveless pink dress with a short skirt that Yutaka kept tugging down nervously. It was a little short, but Yutaka looked good in it.

"That dress looks nice on you." Minami said.

"Oh…thanks…" Yutaka mumbled, suddenly shy. "Um…your costume is…um…"

"What?" Minami said, blushing a little. "I-is there something wrong with my costume? C-can you tell I'm a girl?"

"No!" Yutaka blurted out, blushing in response. "You look like a guy! Ah! I mean a pretty guy! Oh wait…I mean a pretty guy that looks like a girl that…er…" Yutaka fidgeted nervously. "I mean…you too?" _Minami-chan makes a pretty boy…_Yutaka thought to her self

To Yutaka's surprise, Minami laughed again. "Thanks." Any further small talk was ended with the arrival of the train. As Minami and Yutaka jostled their way into the car, Minami caught a few boys covertly pointing, giggling and whispering in Yutaka's direction. They promptly stopped as Minami adjusted her cap and shot them what she hoped was a menacing glare. It must have worked because one of the boys readying a camera jumped a little and dropped on the floor with a sharp _bang. _Minami swept her gaze over the startled cosplayer's friends before turning back to Yutaka with a smile. They were probably harmless but taking pictures of random girls on the train didn't exactly make Minami comfortable.

_This could be a long ride…_ Minami thought, glancing at the other passengers with uncertainty.

_Wow…Minami-chan makes a __**cute **__boy…_Yutaka thought privately.

* * *

"Wow…I've never seen this place so empty before!" Patty exclaimed, looking down at the small crowd of artists and assistants milling around each other's booths. There was about fifteen minutes left in the preliminary artists fair and about thirty minutes before the doors would open and the day's crowd would rush to get the limited prints and pieces. Fortunately for Patty, she had enough time after helping set up the club's stand to hit all her main targets before the cheering throngs tore apart what was left.

"It's empty when it's not in use." Hiyori pointed out, taking a long guzzle out of her flask of coffee, grimacing as she did. "Why did I let you talk me into bringing coffee? I hate coffee."

"Because you were really cranky this morning." Patty said "I can't have you fall asleep in mid sale; your future as a manga artist depends on it!"

Hiyori raised an eyebrow. "My whole future…really?"

"Oh enough with the sarcasm." Patty said, swinging her bags happily. "You could be discovered here! Your favorite studio could be scouting the doujinshi circles for untapped talent and you need to make an impression!"

"Well if you feel so strongly about my career, why did you keep me up last night?"

"I was antsy!" Patty said, bouncing on her toes as they approached the Ryōō Manga Club Booth. "This is my first Comiket after all."

"Really? I'm surprised…" Hiyori and Patty turned around to see Daisuke and Kensuke coming up the stairs to meet them, bags full of swag and panting heavily.

"Looks like you two made out like thieves." Hiyori commented, eyeing the bulging plastic bags with a mix of awe and uncertainty.

"Every…booth…" Daisuke panted, adjusting the cosplay goggles on his head.

"Every…last…one…" Kensuke groaned, setting his bags down and rubbing his shoulders. "Long…walk…"

"Good experience…" Daisuke said, checking the small red and white device on his belt.

"Quil-ava must have gained twenty levels." Kensuke agreed, checking his identical device.

"You guys really hit all the booths?" Patty asked.

"Except South High, of course." Ko replied, coming up the stairs behind them, miraculously not out of breath. "As far as I'm concerned, they can leave with what they brought."

"Hopefully we'll leave lighter than we came." Kensuke said, eying the boxes of manga behind the booth. "I have to take the train home and I don't want to bring any more than I have to."

"Says the guy with twenty pounds of doujin." Patty giggled.

"Like you're one to talk." Daisuke said, prodding Patty's bulging bag with a novelty foam hammer he bought. "You have almost as much as we do."

"What can you expect; it's the girl's first Comiket." Hiyori said, following Ko back to the booth.

"Really?" Daisuke said. "I thought you were here last year too."

"Yeah, but my sister Liz was in town and she wanted to hit Shibuya so she could shop." Patty chuckled. "Liz is a total fashion slave."

Daisuke and Kensuke shared a glance. "You have an older sister named Liz?"

"Yeah." Patty said. "Well, Elizabeth but you know…"

"Still…" Kensuke said. "You…Patty…have a big sister named Liz…"

"Yeah…" Patty said. "What's your point?"

"You don't think that's a bit…funny?" Daisuke asked.

"Funny "ha ha" or funny strange?" Patty asked, still confused.

"Well…it's just Liz…Patty…" Kensuke mumbled dumbly. "Doesn't that remind you of anything…"

"No…should it?" But before Patty could ask for further clarification, Ko's voice brought the club to order.

"Sisters…brothers…assorted otaku. Lend me your ears." Ko perched atop the folding table, calling to arms the small club around her. The freshman Nagisa-kun, Chiba-chan and Ryo-kun stopped unpacking the boxes and took their places in front of Ko as she prepared to make a speech.

"In less than," Ko paused to dramatically check her watch. "Thirty minutes, those doors out there will open and the 2009 Winter Comic Market will have officially begun. More than one hundred thousand people will break upon us like a cold, unforgiving ocean of sweaty and inappropriately dressed comic fans." Ko began to pace back and forth as Daisuke and Kensuke glared solemnly like a pair of lieutenants supporting their commander. Ko paused for a moment, letting the image sink in before going on. "And what do those people have?! Nagisa-san!"

"Acne!" Nagisa blurted out, stricken with panic.

"Lt. Daisuke, discipline that man." Ko said, ignoring the sound of a giant foam mallet colliding with the insubordinate freshman's head. "Tamura! Your thoughts!"

"Giant foam swords!" Hiyori added, ducking Daisuke's hammer attack elegantly.

"No, No, No!" Ko said, moving down the line. "Martin!"

"Inappropriately tight Sail-r M-on skirts, **ma'am**!" Patty said proudly saluting.

Ko sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Focus minions! What do they have that _we _are interested in?!"

"Inappropriately tight Sail-r M-on skirts, **ma'am!" **The entire club said, mirroring Patty's salute."

"Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, AND WRONG!" Ko grabbed Daisuke's souvenir hammer and wheeled it around in a wide sweep, barely missing everyone except Nagisa who was sent spinning to the floor with the force of her blow.

"They…have…EMPTY…BAGS!!!!"

There was a stunned silence as the underclassmen shared confused looks. "Ma'am, please clarify!" A terrified freshman girl squealed.

"What goes in empty bags, Chiba-chan?!" Ko demanded.

"Uh…uh…" Chiba trembled Ko readied her hammer for a second strike.

"Doujinshi, chief!" Hiyori said, coming to her junior's aid. "People bring empty bags to Comiket to store doujinshi."

"Correct!" Ko said, brandishing the hammer at Chiba. "You lucked out there, Chiba-chan."

"Th-thank you sempai." Chiba whispered to Hiyori.

"Though there appear to be a limitless number of customers waiting outside," Ko continued pacing, lightly bouncing the hammer on her shoulder. "Quantum Physics dictates there is a finite amount of empty space in said empty bags!"

"Quantum physics?" Patty whispered to Hiyori. "Did I hear that right?"

"She's on a roll, don't stop her." Hiyori assured.

"Your objective; fill as many of those empty bags as possible with OUR merchandise!" Ko said. "Above all…above the money to cover our printing costs…I will accept nothing less than overwhelming success! I want every issue _gone _by the end of today! Am I understood?!"

"Ma'am!" The club responded in unison.

"Good…now listen up because this is my attempt at being _inspiring._" Ko paused to choose her words carefully. "Now I know I've been a bit difficult to deal with for the past few months…" Ko paused again as the club members loosed a collective snark that could be easily translated into **duh. **"But it's only because…I like what I see. I really admire the work you guys do. I've seen some really interesting stuff in my life as a fangirl…some…_really _interesting stuff…" Ko's eyes glazed over for a second, lost in some bizarre memory. "Like Chiba-chan! Sure, there's a thousand and one Nanoha/Fate doujins but you have a quirky style that makes it fun to read. That's why I liked being in this club; you guys are all out of your tiny little minds! And I mean that in the best possible way! What other circle in the world could dream up a Ranko/Asuka doujin and _make it work!?_" Ko stopped to take a breath. "I guess what I'm trying to say is…thank you."

Patty and Hiyori shared a glance as Ko offered a little bow to her group. "Thank you all for making my high school years memorable." The club looked at each other and there was a general murmur of "Thank _you _Ko-sempai_" _passed around before Ko resumed her pacing.

"Good. Now that that's out of the way, there's the matter of my successor." There was a sudden intake of breath. The passing of the torch between one head of the Manga Club to the next. Everyone leaned in closer to listen.

"Now, I've spent a long time conferring with my henchmen," Ko gestured to Daisuke and Kensuke as the rest of the club leaned in even closer.

"And after much deliberation," Hiyori and the others were practically on their tip toes.

"I've decided…to _not _decide."

_THUD!_

The anticlimax caused at least six people, including Hiyori, to lose their balance and fall flat on their face like a row of anxious teenage dominoes.

For her part, Ko looked very pleased with herself. "Cause a mass facefault IRL…" Ko said, taking out a worn piece of paper and drawing a line on it. "Cross that off the bucket list…"

"Sempai!" Hiyori spluttered, as Patty pulled her to her feet.

"Calm down, Tamura." Ko said airily. "By Comiket's end, there will be a new chair of the Manga Club. All I'm saying is _I'm_ not picking; you are."

"M-me?" Hiyori squeaked.

"All of you." Ko clarified. "I want everyone to vote on who'll take the reins after I leave." Ko reached behind her and produced a box with "VOTES" written on the front. "Give it some thought but by the end of today, I want your votes in this box! Am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good! Now before you all scamper off to patronize the _less_ talented circles around here…I'd like our Lieutenants to lead us in a little charm some of you may be familiar with…" Wordlessly, the club circled up and at first, Patty shuffled off to the side so as not to get in the way of their club ritual. Ko caught her eye and before Patty could protest, Ko raked her in to stand between her and Hiyori. The club circled around Daisuke and Kensuke as they raised their hands in the center. Patty shot a questioning look at Hiyori who gave her a reassuring smile and grabbed her right hand, raising it to lightly touch hers and Daisuke's.

"As we approach the crucial battlegrounds…" Daisuke began in a solemn tone.

"Believe that our blades will not shatter…" Kensuke said, equally grave.

"Believe that our resolve will not weaken." Daisuke responded.

"Though our paths may diverge-"

"Our iron hearts will remain together."

"Swear that though the land itself may break asunder"

"We will come back here…_alive_!"

With that, the doors opened at the far end of the hall. Comiket had begun.

* * *

_AUTHOOOOOORRRRRRR NOOOOOOOTE!!!_

_Hiya-Luckies! _

_This chapter is a long story. It's been a while since I updated but that's mainly for these reasons. _

_School's a beez but I've got it under control now_

_Got bit by a Pokèmon bug so I'm hammering out a short little story "The Sound of Falling Rain" (coughCheckItOutcough coughOnMyProfilePagecough cough ShamlessSelfPromotion cough)  
_

_Some fool got me Final Fantasy XIII __**and **__HeartGold for my birthday (both are phenomenal AWESOME!!!! btw) so my productivity has gone straight to hell _

_I lost the original file so I have to rewrite the second half of this_

_So now that my pitiful excuses are out of the way, a little business. Yutaka is dressed as Nia Tepplin from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (a pun on her English VA) and Minami is going as the zetta awesome Minamimoto Sho from The World Ends With You (if you own a DS __**Get This Game!!) **__Finally, the speech Daisuke and Kensuke give is from Bleach. The Patty and Liz part is from Soul Eater (sharp eyes, Outcast XIV!) one of my favorite manga that Patty hasn't read (but is awesome!). _

_Please drop a review and next time, the Comiket trilogy will come to an end in an explosive fashion! Lives lost! Fanservice! Friendships betrayed! Fanservice! Lying Authors BS their readers! All this plus fanservice! Lucky Legacy! Comiket Part Tres! Fear and Loathing in Tokyo. Coming as soon as I file my taxes!  
_

_Look forward to it! _


End file.
